'  -•:•"'. 


*G 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


J^ 


^» 


t  ^  **> 


ARMOUR; 


OR, 


WHAT  ARE   YOU  GOING  TO  DO  ABOUT   IT? 


BY 


BY  C.  H.    ANDERSON. 


"  The  Surgeon  and  the  Assassin  both  use  the  knife ;  the  one  with 
kindness  and  science,  the  other  with  wantonness  and  malice.  The 
one  cuts  that  he  may  cure  ;  /the  other  that  he  may  kill." 


NEW  YORK: 
W    B.    SMITH    &   CO., 

I'.OVI)    SlKFKT. 


COPYBIOHT,  1881. 

Br  W.  B.  SMITH  &  Co.,  NEW  YORK. 


PREFACE. 

Written  from  no  spirit  of  malice,  nor  to  gratify 
likes  or  dislikes,  but  from  a  sincere  and  natural  hatred  of 
tyranny,  sham,  pretension,  greed,  and  rascality,  whenever 
and  wherever  found,  utterly  regardless  of  ci&t,  creed,  or 
consequences. 


PS 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  THE  CRICKET  AND  THE  ANT     .           .           .           .11 

II.  IN  THE  GLOAMING     .....         22 

III.  LIBERTE,  FRATERNITE,  ET  EGALITE      .  .          .29 

IV.  JUDGE,  JURY,  AND  EXECUTIONER  .         35 
V.  MRS.  ASHTON'S  PARTY         .                   .           .           .    39 

VI.  BETTER  THAT  HE  WERE  DEAD       ...         46 

VII.  CUPID  ON  HORSEBACK        .                  .           .           .52 

VIII.  ALL  is  NOT  GOLD  TIIAT  GLITTERS  ...         63 

IX.  WHAT'S  BRED  IN  THE  BONE      .           .          .           .68 

X.  OUR  UNCLES  .            .....         72 

XI.  WEIGHED  AND  FOUND  WANTING          .           .           -77 

XII.  REPUBLICS  ARE  UNGRATEFUL          ...         86 

XIII.  REAPING  THE  WHIRLWIND       .  .  .  .92 

XIV.  Two  PATRIOTS  .....         99 
XV.  WHICH  WILL  IT  BE  ?                  .           .           .           .108 

XVI.  MY  QUEEN      .           .           .           .           .          .113 

XVII.  THE  CORMORANT  CORPORATION           .          .           .118 

XVIII.  A  CONYNGHAM  CAUCUS            ....          122 

XIX.    WHAT  NEXT  ?  128 

XX.  THE  WORSHIP  OF  THE  GOLDEN  CALF       .           .        131 

XXI.  THE  CAR  OF  JUGGERNAUT        ....  136 

XXII.  HON.  JOHN  LITTLEJOHN       .          .           .           .142 

XXIII.  SAVE  ME  FROM  MY  FRIENDS    ....  148 

XXIV.  THE  MAELSTROM        .....       154 
XXV.  THE  BURSTING  OF  THE  N.  AND  B.  BUBBLE  .           .  163 

XXVI.  CONSISTENCY,  THOU  ART  A  JEWEL,  .          .        168 

XXVII.  THE  ESTHETICAL  RELIGIOUS  BAND     .          .          .174 

XXVIII.  THE  TWIN  DEVILS  .       .          ,          I          .          .177 


1260099 


CONTENTS. 


OHAPTKB 

XXIX.  OUR  PROTOTYPES 

XXX.  CHOOSING  A  GOVERNOR  . 

XXXI.  Sic  TRANSIT  GLORIA 

XXXII.  AFFAIRS  AT  WOODSIDE  COLLIERY 

XXXIII.  THE  CURSE  OF  MONOPOLY  . 

XXXIV.  JAY  GOULD 

XXXV.  AN  UNEQUAL  CONTEST 

XXXVI.  RING  DOWN  THE  CURTAIN 

XXXVII.  THE  TIDE  TURNS 

IIXXVIII.  THE  GLITTERING  SERPENT 

XXXIX.  IN  THE  COILS    . 

XL.  AN  IGNOMINIOUS  FLIGHT         . 

XLI.  THE  JUST  MADE  PERFECT     . 

XLII.  THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  END  .. 


PAOB 

,    186 

191 

»97 

203 

.  208 

213 

.  218 

223 

.  230 

237 
.  244 

251 

.  257 

265 


ARMOUR, 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE   CRICKET  AND   THE   ANT. 

NEAR  the  close  of  a  beautiful  day,  in  the  autumn  of 
1 86 1,  two  young  men  were  standing  on  the  brow  of  a  lofty 
hill,  which  commanded  a  magnificent  view  of  the  sur 
rounding  country.  Carelessly  leaning  on  their  fowling- 
pieces,  they  were  evidently  enjoying  the  wild  and  roman 
tic  scenery  about  them.  The  sky  was  deeply  blue,  the 
air  full  of  soft,  mellow  sunshine.  On  every  side  were 
brightly-tinted  woods,  and  softly-rolling  hills,  clad  in  all 
the  gorgeous  coloring  of  Tyrian  dyes  —  crimson  and  gold, 
scarlet  and  brown,  blending  with  all  the  intermediate 
shades.  Far  in  the  distance  could  be  seen  the  tall  spires 
and  white  cottages  of  the  quaint,  old  town  of  Armour, 
nestling  on  the  banks  of  a  little  mountain  stream,  which 
shimmered  and  sparkled  in  the  bright,  October  sunshine 
like  molten  silver,  as  it  lazily  wound  its  serpentine  course 
throughout  the  narrow  valley,  and  around  the  bases  of 
steep,  wooded  hills,  until  finally  lost  to  view  behind  an 
abrupt  mountain,  which,  more  bold  than  his  fellows,  had 
thrust  himself  far  out  into  the  stream.  The  view,  and  the 

II 


12  ARMOUR. 

soft,  balmy  atmosphere,  so  peculiar  to  our  northern  cli 
mate  during  this  season,  were  well  calculated  to  soothe 
the  most  restless  mind,  and  to  prove  very  conducive  to 
pensive  and  dreamy  meditation. 

"  What  are  you  thinking  about,  Larry  ?  "  asked  Mal 
colm  Conyngham,  apparently  the  elder  of  the  two,  of  his 
companion,  Lawrence  Hamilton. 

"  I  was  thinking  how  much  this  scene  is  like  the  Italian 
Sunset  we  admired  so  much  in  Earle's  gallery  last  week," 
replied  his  friend,  in  a  low,  musical  voice,  as  he  stretched 
himself  full  length  upon  the  hillside,  and  supporting  his 
head  with  his  arms,  dreamily  surveyed  the  landscape  be 
fore  him. 

"  What  picture  are  you  speaking  of  ?  I  do  not  remem 
ber  any  Italian  Sunset  at  Earle's  ? " 

"  Don't  you  remember  that  picture  of  the  pretty  girl 
leaning  against  a  rock,  with  a  far-away,  wistful  look  in 
her  great,  brown  eyes  ?  " 

"I  believe  I  do  remember  the  Sunset  and  the  girl," 
laughed  Conyngham,  as  he  seated  himself  by  his  friend, 
"  but  I  think  you  are  drawing  on  your  imagination,  Larry, 
as  to  the  far-away,  wistful  look.  I  do  not  remember  of 
seeing  it,  anyhow." 

"  I  forgot  the  Conynghams  were  Scotch ; "  replied 
Hamilton,  a  little  nettled.  "  I  believe  no  one  ever  accused 
the  Sandies  of  possessing  very  much  imagination  or 
poetry." 

"  How  about  Burns  ? " 

"  He  was  but  an  exception  to  the  rule  ;  and  his  country 
men  never  tired  of  abusing  him  in  his  day,  for  what  they 
considered  his  nonsense.  I  believe  they  would  think  as 
little  of  him  yet,  if  the  rest  of  the  world  did  not  insist  that 
he  was  a  great  man.  I  was  reading,  the  other  day,  of  the 


THE   CRICKET  AND  THE  ANT.  13 

death  of  an  old  woman,  a  neighbor  of  the  poet,  and  who, 
to  the  last,  said  she  never  could  understand  '  Why  people 
made  so  much  futh  over  that  luthe^druthin  fella,  Booms.'  " 

"  I  think  the  old  woman  was  about  right,"  replied  Cony- 
ngham.  "  Instead  of  strolling  about  the  country,  carousing 
and  making  love  to,  and  poetizing  every  pretty  girl  he 
fancied,  it  would  have  been  far  better,  in  my  opinion,  for 
both  Burns  and  his  family,  if  he  had  stuck  to  his  plow, 
and  made  a  good,  honest  living." 

"  Oh  that  is  about  the  way  all  Scotchmen  viewed  his  ca 
reer  then,  but  at  the  very  time,  he  was  making  Scotland 
famous." 

"  Well,  if  he  did  make  Scotland  famous,  neither  he  nor 
his  family  reaped  any  benefit  from  it." 

"  Malcolm,  there  is  no  use  in  arguing  with  you,  where 
any  poetry  is  concerned.  You  are,  without  exception,  the 
most  prosaic  and  matter-of-fact  young  man  I  have  ever 
met  with.  There  is  such  a  thing  as  being  too  much  so." 

"Well,  I  cannot  help  my  Scotch  and  Dutch  blood, 
Larry,  no  more  than  you  can  the  mercurial  temperament 
and  hot  mixture  of  French  and  Irish  blood  that  your  Ham 
ilton  family  tree  shows,  crossed  and  re-crossed  so  often, 
much  to  the  detriment  of  the  old  Hamilton  family  estate. 
As  it  is,  I  would  not,  under  any  circumstances,  exchange 
temperaments  with  you." 

"  Don't  you  believe  persons  possessing  a  poetical  tem 
perament  enjoy  more  keenly  the  pleasures  of  life,  than 
matter-of-fact  and  prosaic  people  ?  " 

"They  might,"  replied  Conyngham,  if  they  were  in 
possession,  also,  of  an  unlimited  exchequer.  One  of  the 
inevitable  results  of  this  temperament  is  a  chronic  state  of 
impecuniosity.  Such  persons  seldom  make  money,  and 
as  they  can  never  save  any,  they  are  necessarily,  as  a  gen- 


14  ARAfOUR. 

eral  thing,  in  straitened  circumstances,  and  compelled  to 
depend,  more  or  less,  on  their  more  provident  and  practical 
friends  to  extricate  them  from  the  pecuniary  embarrass 
ments,  in  which  their  love  and  taste  for  the  beautiful  inva 
riably  involves  them.  You  remember  the  song  of  the 
cricket  and  the  ant  Like  the  former,  these  gay  and  im 
provident  ones  sing  all  the  summer  long  in  the  bright 
sunshine,  never  thinking  of  the  dark,  cold  winter  before 
them,  and  pitifully  beg  from  the  ant  when  it  overtakes 
them ;  or,  in  other  words,  their  friends  that  have  more 
wisely  provided  for  the  future." 

"  Yes,  and  the  poor  devils  always  get  the  cold-blooded 
ant's  refusal,"  laughed  Hamilton  cynically. 

"  And  the  homily  thrown  in,"  said  Conyngham,  grimly- 

"  Well,"  continued  Hamilton,  "  I  am  not  so  certain, 
after  all,  but  the  cricket  has  the  best  time  of  it.  He 
simply  condenses  his  pleasures,  and  the  ant  certainly 
never  attains  the  same  exquisite  height  of  enjoyment." 

"  No,  nor  the  same  terrific  depth  of  misery  when  star 
vation  sets  in,"  growled  his  friend. 

"  I  believe,"  continued  Hamilton,  not  regarding  the 
interruption,  "that  the  Lord  intended  both  for  some  special 
purpose,  and  ihat  each  has  his  mission.  Of  course  I  am 
to  infer  that  I  am  the  cricket  and  you  are  the  ant.  But 
you  need  have  no  fears,  Malcolm,  of  my  calling  on  you  when 
winter  sets  in.  I  would  certainly  get  the  ant's  reply." 

"Yes,  and  the  homily  too,"  good-naturedly  retorted 
Conyngham. 

"  How  dissimilar  we  are  in  our  tastes,  Malcolm.  I'll  ven 
ture  to  say,  while  I  have  been  reveling  in  the  beauties  of 
nature  all  day,  your  mind,  for  you  have  no  imagination, 
has  been  occupied  in  making  sordid  business  calculations, 
never  thinking  of  the  beauty  around  you." 


THE   CRICKET  AND   THE  ANT.  15 

"I  have  been  thinking  of  business  matters,  and  my 
mind  might  have  been  worse  employed.  I  am  sure  my 
thoughts  have  been  as  profitable,  and  certainly  more  inno 
cent  than  your  own.  I  know  too  well,  Larry,  what  a 
luxurious  Sybarite  and  voluptuary  you  are ;  and  I  am 
confident  that  your  thoughts  were  not  confined  to  admir 
ing  the  beauties  of  nature  alone.  Beautiful  women,  my 
boy,  have  occupied  your  thoughts  more  than  beautiful 
scenery." 

"  That  is  only  admiring  nature  in  another  form." 

"  Yes,  but  not  an  equally  innocent  amusement,  in  the 
way  you  think  of  them.  Am  I  not  right  in  my  con 
jecture  ?  " 

"  Yes,  you  are.  Beautiful  women  have  been  occupying 
my  thoughts  to  some  extent,  and,  to  be  candid,  none  of 
your  St.  Cecilia-faced  women  either,  with  their  cold, 
classical  faces,  whose  only  beauty  lies  merely  in  the  regu 
larity  of  their  clear-cut  but  inexpressive  features,  —  but 
creatures  of  flesh  and  blood,  such  as  the  good  old  Dr. 
Wordsworth  describes  as, 

'  Creatures  not  too  bright  nor  good 
For  human  nature's  daily  food.'  " 

"  Dr.  Wordsworth  never  intended  those  lines  to  be  quot 
ed  in  the  sense  in  which  you  employ  them,"  interrupted 
Conyngham,  while  an  amused  smile  played  around  his 
lips.  He  evidently  enjoyed  his  friend's  conversation,  and 
took  pleasure  in  listening  to  his  vagaries.  "  Let  me  have 
a  description  of  your  ideal  woman,  Of  course  she  must 
be  above  all  things  beautiful." 

"  Not  the  greatest  consideration  by  any  means,  I  assure 
you.  I  do  not  care  how  beautiful  a  woman  is,  if  she  lacks 
the  fire  of  a  passionate  and  loving  heart,  she  can  neither 


16  ARMOUR. 

affect  nor  attract  me.  Love,  not  too  open,  but  modest, 
veiled,  timid  yet  ardent,  coying  yet  fearful.  Ah  !  a  woman 
never  looks  so  beautiful  as  when  glowing  with  the  tender 
passion,  and  her  eyes  are  luminous  and  liquid  with  the  soft 
melting  fire  of  —  " 

"  Be  careful  now,  Larry,"  laughed  Conyngham,  "  I  know 
where  you  are  drifting  to." 

"  What  pleasure,"  continued  Hamilton,  "  can  compare 
with  the  bliss  of  two  intellectually  luxurious  natures  when 
fully  conscious  of  the  certainity  of  each  others  love. 
Away  with  your  gold  and  your  ingots  !  Neither  their  pur 
suit  nor  their  possession  can  give  one  such  ecstatic  pleas 
ure,  as  the  mingling  of  two  such  natures.  Ah!  what  in 
tense  and  exquisite  pleasure  they  must  enjoy  in  the  full 
fruition  of  their  mutual  love !  If  I  had  my  choice,  I 
believe  I  would  prefer  the  gay  lives  of  Mark  Anthony 
and  Cleopatra,  to  the  highly  proper,  decorous,  and  stu 
pidly  respectable  lives  of  our  more  modern  imperial  pair, 
Albert  and  Victoria." 

"  The  deep  damnation  of  their  taking  off,  was  not  so 
pleasant  to  comtemplate,"  again  interrupted  Conyngham. 

"  Well,  that  is  all  true.  The  gay  pair  did  not  live  out 
more  than  half  their  days,  yet  it  is  a  fair  question  with  me 
if  such  a  life  of  gratified  pleasure,  say  for  thirty  years, 
would  not  be  worth  more  than  a  full  sixty  of  virtuous  and 
respectable  stupidity." 

"  The  cricket  and  the  ant  again,"  growled  Malcolm, 
"  but  go  on  and  let  me  hear  you  out." 

"  Mark  could  certainly  say,  like  that  old  Spanish  Lo 
thario,  you  remember  in  Lucile  —  you  have  read  Lucile, 
have  you  not  ? " 

"  No,  I  never  read  Lucile." 

'•  Your  education  then,  has  been  very  sadly  neglected." 


THE  CRICKET  AND   THE  ANT.  17 

"  Go  on  !  go  on  !     What  about  the  Spanish  Lothario  ?  " 
«  Well  — 

'  A  hoary  Lothario,  whom,  dying,  the  priest  by  his  bed 
Knowing  full  well  the  unprincipled  life  he  had  led, 
And  observing,  with  no  small  amount  of  surprise, 
Resignation  and  calm  in  the  old  sinner's  eyes, 
Asked  if  he  had  nothing  that  weighed  on  his  mind  : 
'  Well,  no,'  said  Lothario,  '  I  think  not.     I  find, 
On  reviewing  my  life  which  in  most  things  was  pleasant, 
I  never  neglected,  when  once  it  was  present, 
An  occasion  of  pleasing  myself;  on  the  whole, 
I  have  nought  to  regret.'     And  so,  smiling,  his  soul 
Took  its  flight  from  this  world.'  " 

"  He  was  an  old  villain,"  ejaculated  Conyngham. 

"  I  am  not  so  sure  about  that,"  said  Hamilton.  "  I  am 
very  lenient  in  my  judgment  of  the  old  fellow.  If  some 
of  the  immaculate  people  who  condemn  him  were  beset  by 
one  half  the  temptations  that  pass  through  the  minds  of 
persons  with  warm  imaginations,  they  would  not  shine  be 
fore  the  world,  as  men  and  women  of  great  moral  worth 
and  exceptional  purity  of  character  ;  nor  would  the  world 
give  them  credit  for  resisting  temptations  which  had  never 
presented  themselves." 

"  Well,  keep  on  through  life,  Larry,  and  put  your  ideas 
into  practice,  like  your  old  friend  the  Spanish  Lothario, 
and  my  word  for  it,  you  will  find  your  apples  of  Sodom 
turn  to  ashes  on  your  lips  ;  and  just  so  far  as  you  give 
way  to  the  gratifying  of  wild  and  unbridled  passions,  ut 
terly  regardless  of  the  consequences  to  yourself  and  to 
others,  that  day  will  certainly  come,  as  to-morrow's  sun 
will  rise,  when  you  will  fully  realize  the  fearful  mis 
take  you  have  made.  But  I  know  you  like  to  make  your 
self  out  worse  than  you  really  are.  My  only  fear  is  that  a 
stranger,  listening  to  such  talk,  might  set  you  down  as 


1 8  ARMOUR. 

an  unprincipled  rake,  which  we  all  at  home  know  you 
are  not ;  and,  as  a  friend,  I  advise  you  to  put  a  bridle  on 
both  your  tongue  and  your  imagination,  on  this  subject 
particularly.  Strangers  may  not  be  as  charitably  disposed 
towards  you  as  your  friends  are  who  understand  you." 

"You  are  always  reproaching  me,  Malcolm,  for  my 
occasional  rather  reprehensible  license  of  thought  and 
speech,  but  I  also  notice  that  cautious  and  correct  per 
sons  like  yourself,  enjoy  very  much  hearing,  and  quietly 
encourage  candid,  indiscreet,  and  impulsive  people,  with 
glowing  imaginations,  to  unbosom  themselves,  and  air 
their  peculiar  views  on  topics  generally  tabooed  by  the 
strictly  Calvinistic  school.  However,  it  is  an  old,  old 
story.  The  world  condemned  whilst  living  the  two  great 
est  poets  she  has  ever  produced,  for  expressing  themselves 
too  feelingly,  although  so  attractively  on  this  subject ;  and 
then,  Oh,  ye  gods !  with  what  virtuous  consistency  they 
erected  splendid  monuments  to  their  memory,  and  placed 
magnificent  mausoleums  over  their  remains,  and  trumpeted 
their  fame  to  the  four  quarters  of  the  globe." 

"  All  true,  Larry  ;  but  do  you  desire  to  lead  the  restless 
and  unhappy  lives  of  these  men,  and  die  as  they  did. 
Their  sad  song  to  the  last  was  the  saddest  of  all  songs, 
— '  What  might  have  been.'  You  remember  how  poor 
Burns'  life  of  pleasure,  even  with  the  greatest  talents, 
bound  him  to  poverty  and  compelled  him  to  resort  to  the 
most  humiliating  shifts  for  a  bare  living,  which,  to  a  proud 
nature  like  his,  must  have  been  more  bitter  than  death, 
as  he  struggled  on, 

"Mid  care  and  pain  and  want  and  woe, 

With  wounds  that  only  death  could  heal, 
Fortunes  the  poor  alone  can  know, 
The  proud  alone  can  feel.' 


THE   CRICKET  AND   THE  ANT.  19 

And  finally  died  with  an  execration  on  his  lips,  against  a 
creditor  who,  more  relentless  than  the  rest,  had  pursued 
him  even  to  the  bed  of  death,  and  the  borders  of  eternity. 
And  miserable  Byron,  brilliant  but  bitter,  after  compelling 
the  world  to  acknowledge  his  genius,  wrecked  in  purse 
and  reputation  in  the  bloom  of  young  manhood,  an  Ish- 
maelite  in  society,  divorced,  and  dying  far  from  home  and 
friends,  amongst  strangers  in  a  strange  land  !  And  there 
was  the  Earl  of  Rochester,  the  merry  monarch's  most 
witty,  versatile,  and  profligate  courtier,  who  in  dying,  un 
like  your  Spanish  Lothario,  cried  out  to  his  father  confes 
sor,  '  Oh  my  God,  father !  My  life  has  all  been  a  terrible 
mistake,  a  wretched  mistake  !'  Your  old  friend,  the  Span 
ish  Lothario,  was  simply  an  exception.  That  was  all." 

Hamilton  remained  a  few  moments  in  silence,  appar 
ently  lost  in  contemplation,  while  a  saddened  and  melancholy 
expression  stole  over  his  face.  Do  "  coming  events  cast 
their  shadows  before  "  ?  With  a  deep  sigh  he  remarked 
to  his  friend  as  he  slowly  rose  from  the  ground,  "  It  is 
growing  rather  late,  we  had  better  go  back  to  camp." 

The  evening  shadows  had  deepened  and  lengthened,  till 
the  soft,  dim  twilight  rested  on  the  hills  about  them.  Gath 
ering  up  their  guns  and  equipments  the  two,  slowly  and 
with  swinging,  graceful  strides,  descended  the  hill,  and 
their  voices  grew  less  and  less  distinct  as  their  lithe,  manly 
forms  gradually  disappeared  in  the  darkening  shadows  of 
the  narrow  ravine  below,  while  the  declining  sun,  slowly 
sinking  over  the  mountain  tops,  cast  a  deep  gloom  through 
out  the  wooded  hollow  of  oak  and  maple ;  and  nothing 
disturbed  the  almost  painful  stillness  but  the  melancholy 
hootings  of  a  lonely  owl,  perched  on  the  dead  limb  of  a 
towering  pine  on  the  neighboring  hillside. 

Hamilton  was  a  little  above  medium  height,  and  had 


20  ARMOUR. 

a  slender,  graceful  figure,  but  removed  from  all  charge  of 
effeminacy.  His  eyes  were  clear  gray,  with  a  tender  and 
thoughtful  expression.  When  animated  they  were  full 
of  life  and  feeling.  His  mouth  was  small  and  sensitive, 
and  the  rounding  lips  had  a  slightly  sensuous  curve. 
Hair  dark  brown,  and  inclined  to  be  wavy.  Kxci-ediugly 
winning  in  his  manner,  few  men  could  be  more  agreeable 
and  fascinating  when  so  disposed. 

Altogether,  he  was  a  type  of  man  few  women  could  with 
stand,  a  fact  of  which  no  one  was  better  aware  than  was 
Hamilton  himself,  and  upon  which  he  was  apt  at  times,  to 
presume.  Generous,  impulsive,  and  extremely  suscep 
tible  to  the  charms  of  the  fair  sex,  ever  since  he  could 
either  fall  in  love  or  get  in  debt,  he  had  never  been 
entirely  free  from  the  one,  or  out  of  the  other,  and  was 
liked  by  every  man,  woman,  and  child  in  Armour.  Full  of 
bonhommti,  gay  and  witty,  bright  and  cheerful,  he  was  the 
life  of  every  social  gathering  in  the  place,  and  no  party 
was  considered  complete  without  him.  His  appearance 
was  as  certain  to  call  forth  warm  expressions  of  welcome, 
from  both  old  and  young,  as  was  that  of  his  friend  Con- 
yngham,  with  his  cold,  moody,  and  embarrassed  manner, 
to  throw  a  damper  upon  any  group  to  which  he  chose  to 
attach  himself. 

Yet  Conyngham,  when  necessary  to  the  attainment  of 
any  object,  could  at  times  render  himself  both  pleasant 
and  agreeable.  His  father's  position  as  one  of  the  lead 
ing  business  men,  and  the  most  prominent  politician  in  the 
state,  with  the  young  man's  prospective  wealth  and  cor 
rect  habits,  gave  him  a  great  advantage  over  the  young 
men  of  the  place. 

Malcolm  Conyngham  was  tall,  and  fine  looking,  with 
fair  hair,  cold,  blue  gray  eyes,  and  strongly  marked  fea- 


THE  CRICKET  AND  THE  ANT.  21 

tures,  which,  in  repose,  were  as  immovable  and  devoid  of 
feeling  as  if  cast  in  steel.  He  would  have  been  called  a 
handsome  man,  but  for  the  expression  of  suspicious  watch 
fulness  in  his  eyes, —  an  expression  habitual  and  almost 
feline  in  its  intensity  —  a  look  that  never  failed  to  produce 
a  sense  of  discomfort  and  feeling  of  disagreeable  embar 
rassment  on  those  with  whom  he  conversed,  when  there 
was  no  selfish  point  to  be  made. 

A  great  catch  in  the  matrimonial  market,  not  only  in 
Armour,  but  throughout  the  state,  he  had,  even  at  this 
early  age,  passed  through  seyeral  spirited  campaigns  at 
fashionable  watering  places,  but  had  so  far  proved  invul 
nerable  to  the  wiles  of  scheming  mothers  with  marriagea 
ble  daughters. 

He  had  early  been  initiated  by  his  father,  into  the  mys 
teries  of  the  banking  business,  a  business  in  which  Conyng- 
ham  Senior  had  accumulated  a  fortune,  and  in  which  he. 
was  still  largely  engaged;  and  at  an  age  when  most  young 
men  were  taken  up  with  flirting,  courting  the  muses,  and 
having  a  good  time  generally,  Malcolm  Conyngham  was 
all  absorbed  in  making  money. 

Amongst  men  he  had  few  friends,  and  the  only  person 
with  whom  he  was  at  all  on  terms  of  intimacy  was  young 
Hamilton. 


22  ARMOUR. 


CHAPTER  II. 

IN   THE  GLOAMING. 

IN  the  pleasant  and  tastefully  furnished  parlor  of  one  of 
the  handsomest  houses  of  Armour,  sat  Mrs.  Adair  and  her 
daughter  Fannie. 

The  latter  had  just  graduated  from  Madame  Clem 
ents'  "Fashionable  Institute  for  Young  Ladies,"  in  a 
neighboring  city. 

The  evening  was  damp  and  chilly,  and  Fannie  sat 
close  to  the  low  grate  fire,  with  her  pretty  little  feet  co- 
quettishly  resting  on  the  fender,  busied  with  some  bright 
crochet  work. 

The  sweet,  fresh,  young  face  of  the  daughter,  and  the 
dignified,  matronly  form,  and  features  of  the  mother,  made 
a  charming  and  home-like  picture  as  they  sat  chatting  to 
one  another  in  the  gloaming. 

"  Fannie,  where  has  Lawrence  Hamilton  been  for  the 
last  two  weeks  ?  I  have  missed  him  from  church  now  for 
two  Sabbaths.  If  he  is  in  town  he  certainly  knows  you 
are  at  home,  and  it  seems  strange  that  he  should  not  call." 

"  1  met  Emily  Charlton  yesterday,"  said  Fannie,  "  and 
she  said  he  and  Malcolm  Conyngham  were  having  their 
annual  fall  hunting ;  but  they  must  be  home  now.  I  saw 
Malcolm  go  into  the  bank  this  morning.  As  for  calling 
on  me,  I  don't  think  Lord  Hamilton  concerns  himself 
much  about  young  ladies  at  his  own  home.  He  reserves 
all  his  fascinations  for  strangers.  The  girls  at  madame's 


IN  THE  GLOAMING.  23 

had  all  heard  of  him,  and  Lou  was  anxious  to  meet  him. 
They  say  he  had  quite  a  flirtation  with  Min  Stewart  last 
summer.  Her  sister  Lil  was  one  of  my  room-mates,  and 
Min's  letters  were  so  full  of  Larry  Hamilton  this,  and 
Larry  Hamilton  that,  that  I  became  fairly  sick  of  hearing 
the  name. 

"  They  rode  on  horseback  a  great  deal  together  —  did 
they  not  ? "  queried  Fannie,  in  a  tone  which  displayed  more 
interest  than  so  simple  a  question  warranted,  especially 
when  coming  from  a  young  lady  who  had.  a  few  moments 
before,  declared  she  was  sick  of  hearing  of  the  gentleman. 

Mrs.  Adair  quickly  noticed  the  change  in  her  daughter's 
voice  whilst  making  this  inquiry,  and  looking  up,  a  shade 
of  anxiety  for  a  moment  passed  over  her  kind,  motherly 
face,  unnoticed,  however,  by  Fannie,  as  her  mother  quietly 
replied  that  she  believed  she  had  seen  him  with  Mrs.  Ash- 
ton's  visitors  ;  but  as  to  whether  he  had  been  particularly 
attentive  to -any  one  of  them,  she  had  not  heard. 

"  It  is  very  pleasant  to  have  a  cavalier  like  Larry  on 
hand  "  continued  Fannie,  "  who  has  plenty  of  money  and 
the  leisure  and  inclination  to  spend  it ;  especially  when  one 
has  visitors.  Besides,  he  has  seen  so  much  more  of  the 
world  and  society  than  most  of  our  young  men,  and  is 
always  ready  for  a  flirtation  with  every  girl  who  comes 
along,  provided  she  is  stylish  and  a  stranger.  I  hardly 
know  what  I  would  do  to  entertain  Lou  if  he  were  to  go 
away.  Emily  says  town  is  insufferably  dull,  and  I  am 
afraid  she  will  have  a  stupid  time.  I  do  hope  Larry  will 
be  home  when  she  is  here  ; "  and  Mrs.  Adair  could  not 
repress  a  smile  as  Fannie  again  returned  to  the  distasteful 
subject  of  Lawrence  Hamilton.  "  It  has  been  over  a  year 
now  since  he  carried  my  satchel  to  the  train  for  me.  I 
remember  I  was  so  provoked  at  him  for  quizzing  me  as  if 


24  ARMOUR. 

I  were  a  child.  I  suppose  he  still  thinks  of  me  as  a  little 
jjirl,  and  I  intend  being  very  dignified  to  both  him  ;md 
Malcolm  Conyngham.  The  girls  have  completely  spoiled 
them,  and  Emily  says  when  there  are  any  strange  girls 
\  Siting  here,  they  are  shamefully  indifferent  to  their  home 
friends,  so  that  we  have  both  determined  not  to  be  made 
conveniences  of  by  them,  but  on  Lou's  account  I  will  have 
to  be  agreeable  for  the  time  being." 

"  Your  father  thinks  it  is  about  time  for  Larry  to  get  into 
some  business,  or  attach  himself  to  one  of  the  professions. 
He  certainly  cannot  be  satisfied  with  the  aimless  life  of 
pleasure  he  has  been  living  for  several  years  past ;  and  the 
world  has  a  right  to  expect  of  a  man,  possessing  the  talents 
young  Hamilton  undoubtedly  has,  something  more  than 
the  life  of  an  idle  man  of  fashion.  Malcolm  Conyngham 
has  not  half  the  brains  that  Larry  has,  yet  your  father 
says  he  is  making  money,  and  a  fine  business  reputation 
for  himself." 

"  I  guess,  mother,  Malcolm  Conyngham  is  naturally 
fonder  of  money  than  Larry.  When  a  boy,  he  had  a  very 
unenviable  reputation  for  being  both  tricky  and  selfish.  You 
know  brother  Ralph  said  at  school  he  was  always  dicker 
ing  with,  and  taking  advantage  of,  the  duller  and  younger 
boys ;  and  why  Larry  always  liked  him  Ralph  could  never 
understand,  unless,  being  such  good  company,  Malcolm 
found  it  pleasant  and  convenient  to  have  him  with  him, 
and  on  that  account  was  more  agreeeble  to  him  than  to 
others.  He  says  Larry  gives  Malcolm  credit  with  being 
more  generous  and  clever  than  he  seems,  and  believes 
he  will  some  day  be  a  great  man." 

"  If  young  Hamilton  were  forced  by  circumstances," 
said  Mrs.  Adair,  "  to  make  his  own  living,  or  would 
marry  some  good,  sensible  woman,  and  resolve  to  give  up 


IN  THE  GLOAMING.  .       25 

the  pursuit  of  pleasure,  he  could  become  almost  anything 
he  chose  ;  but  that  was  the  door-bell  —  was  it  not  ? " 

As  Fannie  stepped  quickly  to  the  window,  and  looked 
out  into  the  street,  her  face  brightened,  and  quickly  run 
ning  through  the  hall,  without  answering  her  mother, 
there  followed  a  few,  quick,  joyful  exclamations,  and  that 
shower  of  interrogatories,  that  invariably  takes  place  on 
the  meeting  of  two  young  lady  friends  after  a  whole 
day's  absence  from  one  another.  A  few  moments  later 
Fannie  ushered  into  the  room  a  tall,  slender  girl,  with 
large,  expressive,  eyes.  Fine  eyes  they  were,  full  of  mean 
ing  and  light.  She  had  delicate  and  sensitive  features, 
and  a  small,  well-shaped  head,  gracefully  poised  on  a 
lithe,  slender  figure ;  her  hair  was  very  dark  brown,  and 
her  eyes  deep  violet  blue  ;  at  times,  they  appeared  almost 
black,  probably  owing  to  the  long,  dark  eyelashes.  Her 
complexion  was  the  delicate  tint  of  the  tea-rose. 

This  was  Fannie's  intimate  friend,  Emily  Charlton,  and 
as  the  young  lady  crossed  the  room  to  greet  Mrs.  Adair, 
nothing  could  be  more  charming  than  the  willowy  and 
undulating  grace  of  her  movements.  Magnetic  and  at 
tractive,  bright  and  fond  of  admiration,  Emily  Charlton 
never  lacked  admirers,  and  while  she  lacked  the  intellect 
uality  of  Fannje  Adair,  and  possessed  none  of  her  friend's 
bright  and  sparkling  wit  or  talent  in  repartee  and  conver 
sation,  that  rendered  Fannie  such  a  favorite  amongst  the 
older  people  and  the  more  thoughtful  of  the  younger  ones, 
yet  in  large  companies,  or  at  a  general  party,  Emily  al 
ways  appeared  to  better  advantage  than  Fannie,  as  she 
was  naturally  of  a  more  calculating  and  manceuvering  dis 
position.  Her  inborn  love  of  admiration  unconsciously 
encouraged  the  advances  of  her  gentlemen  friends,  and  led 
her  to  greet  them  with  a  warmth  and  cordiality  that  never 


26  ARMOUR. 

failed  to  interest  them,  and  make  them  her  warm  ad 
mirers. 

After  seating  themselves  Fannie  exclaimed,  "  Oh,  mother, 
isn't  it  too  bad  ;  Mrs.  Ashton  is  going  to  give  a  large  party 
next  week,  and  Lou  will  not  be  here  until  the  week  after." 

44  You  had  better  write  to  your  friend,  and  have  her  come 
next  week,"  replied  her  mother. 

"I  would,  but  she  expects  to  visit  her  aunt  in  Albany 
before  coming  here." 

44  Are  you  expecting  Miss  Emory  so  soon?"  Emily  in 
quired,  with  an  expression  that  afterwards  puzzled  Fannie. 
44  Of  course  Larry  Hamilton  will  be  on  hand,  dancing  at 
tendance  as  usual  to  strangers.  What  geese  they  are  to 
let  him  flirt  with  them  as  he  does!  They  have  completely 
spoiled  him." 

44  Why,  Emily,  I  always  thought  you  and  Larry  were 
particular  friends,"  said  Mrs.  Adair,  somewhat  surprised 
at  the  latent  irritation  which  her  tone  unmistakably  be 
trayed. 

44  It  is  enough  to  provoke  any  one,"  pouted  Miss  Emily ; 
44  when  any  strange  young  lady  visits  here,  we  are  second 
ary  considerations,  and  merely  satellites  revolving  around 
that  bright  particular  star  Lord  Hamilton's  passing  whim 
or  fancy  chooses  to  select  for  us ;  and  after  they  leave,  he 
has  the  impertinence  to  come  to  us  for  sympathy  and  con 
dolence  for  their  absence.  Last  summer,  when  he  asked 
Min  Stewart  and  me  to  go  horseback  riding,  he  procured 
Min  that  gray  pony  of  Hunter's,  and  that  great  unsightly 
giraffe  of  Jacobs'  for  me.  I  declare,  when  he  brought  him 
to  the  door,  with  his  neck  stretched  out  like  a  crane,  and 
asleep  on  his  feet,  and  I  saw  Min,  nearly  purple,  trying  to 
keep  from  laughing  outright  at  the  ridiculous  figure  I  cut, 


IN  THE  GLOAMING.  27 

and  Mr.   Hamilton,  of  course,  very  busily  engaged  in  fix 
ing  the  saddle,  I  could  have  cried  with  vexation." 

"  You  know  it  is  very  difficult  sometimes  to  get  a  good 
lady's  hackney,"  mildly  interposed  Mrs.  Adair,  whil- 
deavoring  to  suppress  an  amused  smile  at  Kmily's  descrip 
tion  of  her  "  Rozinantes." 

"  But  that  was  not  the  worst  of  it,  I  had  to  lay  my 
whip  on  at  every  step  to  keep  up  with  them,  and  at  last 
Min's  patience  was  exhausted,  and  she  rode  off  and  left 
us.  Larry  offered  to  exchange  horses  with  me  ;  but  I  pre 
ferred  being  mortified  to  death  to  having  my  neck  broken 
on  that  black  of  his,  and  declined.  We  were  not  very 
sociable  during  that  ride,  I  assure  you,  for  finally,  provoked 
beyond  all  measure,  with  the  greatest  exertion  and  a  free 
application  of  the  whip,  I  succeeded'  in  getting  the  beast 
into  a  slow  canter  just  as  we  were  descending  a  hill.  When 
half-way  down  he  suddenly  stopped  stock  still  ;  and,  ex 
pecting  nothing  of  the  kind,  away  I  went  over  his  neck, 
rolling  over  and  over  in  the  dust,  but  was  fortunately  not 
hurt.  I  might  have  been  killed,  but  was  dreadfully  fright 
ened  when  I  found  myself  lying  on  my  back  and  that  gr<-at 
ugly  animal  standing  right  over  me,  and  gazing  down  upon 
me  with  half  closed  eyes,  tranquilly  and  contemplatively, 
as  if  wondering  what  in  the  world  I  was  doing  there.  And 
just  think,  while  I  was  lying  there,  wild  with  terror,  and 
striking  blindly  up  at  him  with  my  whip,  and  screaming  'go 
away  I  go  away ! '  for  fear  he  would  trample  me  to  death, 
would  you  believe  it,  there  sat  that  scamp,  Larry  Hamil 
ton,  leaning  over  his  horse  and  laughing  right  in  my  face. 
I  was  never  so  mortified  and  angry  in  my  life,  and  will  not 
forgive  him  for  that  shameful  trick  as  long  as  I  live." 

Fannie  could  no  longer  restrain  herself  at  the  thought 
of  the  sorry  figure  the  proud  and  sensitive  Emily  mus' 


28  ARMOUR. 

have  cut  before  the  city  visitor  and  a  gentleman  with  so 
keen  a  sense  of  the  ridiculous  as  Hamilton  possessed,  and 
peals  of  merry  laughter  rang  through  the  room,  as  she 
gazed  on  the  flushed  and  indignant  face  of  her  friend. 
Her  merriment  was  so  contagious  that  even  Emily  herself 
reluctantly  joined  in,  and  laughed  at  the  remembrance  of 
her  own  ludicrous  plight. 

After  laughing  heartily  at  this  adventure,  told  in  Emily's 
inimitable  style,  the  ladies  began  to  discuss  the  thousand 
and  one  details  of  that  never-failing  topic  of  feminine 
conversation,  dress  and  dressing,  and  Mrs.  Ashton's  com 
ing  party. 


L1BERTE,  FRATERNITE,  ET  EGALITE.     29 


CHAPTER  III. 

LIBERTE,    FRATERNITE,    ET   EGALITE. 

ALTHOUGH  Hamilton  and  Conyngham  had  been  reared 
with  the  same  social  influences  and  surroundings,  in  their 
tastes,  temperament,  and  mental  and  moral  make-up,  they 
were  as  dissimilar  as  are  the  Torrid  and  Frigid  Zones.  Only 
by  tracing  back  to  the  different  races  from  which  they 
sprung  could  one  in  any  measure  account  for  this  great 
difference,  and  explain  the  divergence  in  the  after  lives  of 
these  two  young  men ;  for  both  apparently  pursued  the 
same  aims  and  were  actuated  by  the  same  ambitions. 

The  founder  of  the  Hamilton  family,  of  which  Larry  was 
the  last  maje  representative,  waS  Col.  Lawrence  Hamilton, 
an  Irish  gentleman  of  considerable  means  and  influence 
in  his  own  country.  His  hatred  of  tyranny  and  oppres 
sion  in  every  form  as  well  as  the  natural  Irish  love  of  ex 
citement,  had  led  him  to  an  active  participation  in  one  of 
those  fruitless  and  periodical  attempts  of  that  unhappy 
people  to  free  themselves  from  England's  hated  rule,  after 
the  failure  of  which  he  found  it  prudent  to  leave  for 
America. 

Of  fine  person,  gay,  social  and  with  rare  address  and  a 
winning  manner,  Hamilton  was  not  long  in  Philadelphia, 
the  city  he  had  chosen  for  his  future  home  in  the  colonies, 
before  he  became  a  great  favorite  in  the  charming  society 
which  distinguished  that  city  then,  and  for  which  it  is  still 
noted  to  this  day.  Already  a  pronounced  rebel  and  a 


30  ARMOUR. 

warm  advocate  of  the  divine  rights  of  man,  as  taught  by 
I'ai-e,  Voltaire,  and  Rousseau,  doctrines  then  just  beginning 
to  become  fashionable  and  popular,  Hamilton  soon  be 
came  a  man  of  mark  in  political  circles,  and  prominent  in 
the  agitations  which  eventually  led  to  open  rupture  with 
the  mother  country;  and  slumbering  aspirations,  that  had 
hitherto  been  confined  to  a  few  dreamers  whose  Utopian 
ideas  had  been  looked  upon  as  the  idle  vaporings  of  im 
practicable  minds,  began  to  bear  fruit. 

By  the  advice  of  friends  Hamilton  had  invested  what 
little  capital  he  had  saved  in  the  lucrative  West  India 
trade,  and,  a  few  years  after,  he  wooed  and  won  Rachelle 
Bartholeman,  the  only  daughter  of  an  expatriated  French 
man,  a  chevalier,  who  like  himself  had  entertained  chimeri 
cal  ideas  of  personal  and  popular  liberty,  inconsistent  with 
the  permanence  and  stability  of  monarchical  governments, 
and  views  not  in  accordance  or  in  harmony  with  those 
held  by  persons  who  belie\ted  in  the  divine  right  of  kings. 

The  father  of  the  young  lady,  Chevalier  Felix  Barthol 
eman,  was  a  widower  of  forty,  who,  after  the  death  of  his 
wife,  to  whom  he  had  been  devotedly  attached,  finding 
provincial  life  unendurable  and  irksome,  concluded  that 
Paris  offered  to  one  of  his  social  tastes  and  active  tem 
perament  a  better  field  for  ambitious  effort;  and,  with 
his  daughter  Rachelle,  then  a  young  girl  of  sixteen,  he  took 
up  his  residence  in  the  gay  capital.  But  he  soon  found 
that  the  liberty  of  speech  and  license  of  thought,  which 
he  could  indulge  in  with  impunity  in  La  Vende'e,  where  he 
had  been  the  leading  proprie'taire  of  the  Province,  was  a 
dangerous  amusement  in  the  salons  of  the  Rue  Royale 
and  the  Faubourg  St  Germain,  surrounded  by  the  secret 
emissaries  of  the  court  party. 


LIBERTE,  FRATERNITE,  ET  EGALITE.     31 

One  night,  while  heated  with  wine,  and  carried  away  by 
the  applause  which  greeted  his  witty  and  stinging,  sallies 
on  royalty,  he  so  far  forgot  himself  and  his  surroundings, 
as  to  rise  from  his  seat,  and  carol  off  a  song,  then  very 
popular  amongst  the  Vendeeans,  but  the  words  and  senti 
ments  of  which  were  very  far  from  complimentary  to  either 
Louis  or  his  court ;  he  was  suddenly  brought  to  his  senses, 
on  finishing  the  first  stanza,  by  witnessing  the  startled 
looks  of  his  hostess,  and  missing  the  enthusiastic  rounds 
of  applause  that  the  finishing  of  each  stanza,  of  the  song 
usually  brought  forth,  while  formerly  entertaining  some 
of  these  same  guests  at  his  chateau,  during  the  hunt 
ing  season.  The  influence  of  an  old  friend  of  his  fathers, 
who  had  the  ear  of  Cardinal  B — ,  alone  saved  him  from  a 
kttre  de  cachet. 

His  Parisian  friends  soon  plainly  gave  him  to  under 
stand  that  they  no  longer  desired  to  be  amused  and  en 
tertained  at  the  expense  of  court  favor. 

An  object  of  suspicion  to  the  government,  and  ostra 
cized  from  the  society  of  his  former  friends,  the  last  of  his 
race,  and  with  no  ties  of  family  to  bind  him  to  his  native 
country,  and  under  a  cloud  that  debarred  him  from  enter 
ing  the  ambitious  political  career  he  had  marked  for  him 
self,  he  determined  to  seek  in  the  new  world  the  position 
and  the  fame  which  was  denied  him  in  his  own  coun 
try;  and  with  the  remains  of  a  fortune  sadly  impaired  by 
years  of  reckless  and  extravagant  living,  one  bright  morn 
ing  in  May,  1773,  father  and  daughter  landed  in  New 
York,  where,  meeting  an  old  friend  who  lived  in  Philadel 
phia,  he  was  induced  to  make  the  latter  place  his  future 
home. 

The  daughter  quickly  adapted  herself  to  her  new  sur 
roundings  ;  but  the  gay  chevalier  longed  for  La  Be/It 


32  ARMOUR. 

• 

France^  lost  heart,  and  succumbing  to  a  malarial  fever,  he 
passed  away,  murmuring  to  the  last  of  the  green  fields 
and  babbling  brooks  of  "  Sunny  France." 

His  friend  adopted  Rachelle,  and  at  his  house  she  met 
and  learned  to  love  the  handsome  and  agreeable  young 
Hamilton.  They  were  married,  and  had  for  a  short  time 
enjoyed  as  happy  wedded  life  as  is  generally  vouchsafed 
to  mortals,  when  the  storm,  which  had  for  some  time  been 
brewing  between  the  mother  country  and  the  colonies, 
burst  forth  in  all  its  fury.  The  report  of  the  first  gun  at 
Lexington,  made  the  blood  tingle  in  the  veins  of  every  pa 
triotic  man  throughout  the  land ;  and  Hamilton  was  among 
the  first  to  offer  his  services  to  Congress.  He  raised  a  com 
pany  in  time  to  participate  in  the  unfortunate  blunder  of 
Long  Island,  where  his  regiment  was  almost  decimated, 
and  the  mortality  so  great  that  he  at  once  rose  to  the 
rank  of  colonel ;  and  throughout  the  long  eight  years  of 
that  ever-memorable  struggle,  he  was  distinguished  for 
his  uniform  kindness  and  courtesy  to  his  brother  officers 
and  men,  and  for  his  gallantry  on  the  field. 

When  peace  was  declared  he  found  himself,  like  many 
others,  in  rather  straitened  circumstances,  and  with  a  small 
family  on  his  hands.  For  a  nominal  sum  he  purchased  a 
large  tract  of  wild  land,  in  what  was  then  called  the  back 
woods,  and  where  now  stands  the  town  of  Armour. 

Finding  here  rich  deposits  of  iron  ore,  Hamilton  com 
municated  the  fact  to  several  of  his  former  friends,  who 
had,  more  prudently  or  perhaps  less  generously,  man 
to  save  some  of  their  patrimony,  and  entering  into  part 
nership,  by  a  few  years  of  energy  and  intelligent  effort,  he 
was  soon  again  in  prosperous  circumstances,  and  enabled 
to  educate  his  children  in  Philadelphia,  and  renew  his  in 
timacy  with  his  friends  of  ante-bellum  days. 


LIBERTE,  FRATERNITE,  ET  EGALITE.    33 

His  success  attracted  others,  and  a  charming  society 
soon  sprang  up  in  what  had  been,  but  a  few  years  before, 
a  howling  wilderness. 

These  old  iron  masters  led  baronial  lives,  and  main 
tained  all  the  refined  courtesies  and  hospitalities  that  so 
distinguished  the  wealthy  planters  of  Maryland  and  Vir 
ginia  in  those  days. 

In  the  course  of  time,  the  old  families  had  so  married 
and  intermarried  with  one  another,  that  there  were  few 
who  were  not  connected  by  ties  of  blood,  and  the  indi 
vidual  and  characteristic  family  traits  became  intensified 
in  their  descendents. 

Not  having  experienced  the  mutations  of  fortune  their 
ancestors  had,  and  not  feeling  the  wholesome  spur  of 
necessity,  their  sons  led  the  careless  and  thoughtless  lives 
of  bon  vivants  and  gay  cavaliers,  yielding  themselves  up 
entirely  to  the  pleasures  of  the  hour,  and  spending  their 
lives,  their  health,  and  their  fortunes  in  flirting  and  dan 
cing,  hunting,  horse-racing,  and  gaming. 

The  two  last  named  amusements  were  not  only  recog 
nized  at  that  time  as  proper  and  legitimate,  but  were  prac 
ticed  by  the  most  staid  and  sedate  old  gentlemen  of  the 
day.  They  soon  ran  through  their  fortunes,  and,  piece  by 
piece,  the  large  estates  fell  into  the  hands  of  strangers  or 
money-lenders,  or  dwindled  down  to  the  homestead  and  a 
few  acres,  while  their  impoverished  descendants  speculat 
ed  their  social  position  on  marriages  with  nouveaux  riches, 
like  their  noble  English  prototypes  of  to-day  and  our 
American  heiresses,  willing  to  replenish  their  exhausted 
exchequers,  and  gratify  their  luxurious  and  extravagant 
tastes,  by  sharing  their  names  and  social  position  for 
wealth,  —  family,  and  social  position  for  money  —  money 
for  social  distinction  and  influence. 


34  ARMOUR. 

Fast  living  soon  thinned  out  the  old  Hamilton  family 
and  in  the  third  generation  but  one  of  the  lineal  descend 
ants  of  Lawrence  Hamilton  remained  to  transmit  the 
family  name. 

This  sole  survivor  was  Roger  Hamilton,  Larry's  father, 
who  started  in  the  world  poor,  and  with  nothing  but  his 
indomitable  pluck  and  energy,  and  the  proud  memory  of 
a  race,  whose  errors,  while  many,  had  always  been  on  the 
side  of  generosity  and  humanity,  and  whose  bon-mots  and 
witty  sallies  and  kind  hospitalities  are  still  matters  of 
tradition  in  that  country. 


JUDGE,  JURY,  AND  EXECUTIONER.      35 


CHAPTER  IV. 

JUDGE,   JURY,    AND   EXECUTIONER. 

ROGER,  unfortunately  inheriting  these  tastes  and  tenden 
cies  of  his  ancestors  without  the  means  of  gratifying  them, 
was  at  times  reduced  to  straits  that  a  proud  nature  like  his 
fairly  writhed  under,  and  he  struggled  desperately  to  over 
come  the  obstacles  between  him  and  fortune. 

After  finally  succeeding  far  beyond  even  his  most  sanguine 
expectations,  he  dreaded  the  effect  of  the  Hamilton  love  of 
excitement  and  pleasure  upon  his  son.  With  ample  means 
to  gratify  his  inclinations,  his  great  anxiety  was  to  shield 
him  from  his  own  sad  and  bitter  experience,  a  considera 
tion  which  finally  induced  him  to  entail  his  estate,  giving 
Larry  an  assured  annual  income.  To  do  this  necessitated 
the  selection  of  a  trustee  during  his  son's  life  —  a  rather 
humiliating  arrangement  but  which  was  necessary  to  the 
carrying  out  of  his  intentions.  At  the  suggestion  of  his 
attorney  the  income  was  unfortunately  left  with  numerous 
provisions  and  conditions,  constituting  a  rather  curious  sys 
tem  of  rewards  and  punishments,  with  the  trustee  as  judge, 
jury,  and  executioner,  and  with  no  corresponding  restraint, 
check,  or  responsibility  whatever  on  the  part  of  the  trus 
tee,  but  the  mere  verbal  promise  that  its  provisions  would 
be  carried  out  in  the  same  kind  and  liberal  spirit  a  father 
would  naturally  be  supposed  to  exercise,  under  the  same 
circumstances,  with  his  own  children  ;  a  very  hazardous  ex 
periment  this  was,  to  give  the  complete  control  of  on« 


36  ARMOUR. 

man's  fortune,  and,  to  a  dangerous  extent,  the  shaping  of 
another's  future  career,  to  one  who  was  bound  by  no  ties 
other  than  pecuniary  gain  and  a  love  of  power. 

With  some  temperaments  a  will  of  this  kind  might  pos 
sibly  have  resulted  differently,  and  with  a  wise  and  kindly- 
disposed  trustee,  especially  if  the  ward  was  easily  influ 
enced  and  submissively  disposed.  Larry  Hamilton  was 
neither,  but  a  high-spirited  and  hot-blooded  young  fellow, 
who,  while  full  of  kind  and  generous  impulses  and  natu 
rally  given  to  easy,  pleasure-loving  ways,  was  as  determined 
and  ambitious  to  wield  power,  as  was  the  Honorable  John 
Littlejohn,  his  trustee,  determined  to  make  him  'submit  to 
it. 

The  latter  was,  as  the  world  goes,  an  honest  man  and  an 
able  lawyer,  but  passionately  fond  of  power.  Narrow, 
illiberal  and  tyrannical,  he  prided  himself  on  his  pro 
fessional  abilities  and  his  immaculate  Christianity.  The 
leading  elder  of  the  fashionable  church  in  Armour  and 
superintendent  of  its  Sabbath  school,  he  loved  to  "  pray 
standing  in  the  synagogue  "  where  he  could  be  "  seen  of 
men  "  and  made  "  broad  his  phylacteries." 

At  this  period  of  his  career  he  was  looked  up  to,  by  the 
circle  of  obsequious  satellites  and  admirers  who  are  always 
found  ready  to  bow  down  to  and  worship  the  rising  sun  of 
success,  as  the  very  embodiment  of  the  perfect  man,  and 
of  that  grand  religion,  the  very  corner-stone  and  founda 
tion  of  which  is  based  on  the  universal  brotherhood  of 
mankind,  charity  and  the  forgiveness  of  our  enemies. 

Yet  no  Comanche  brave  ever  engaged  with  more  ardor 
in  the  pursuit  of  an  enemy's  scalp  than  d*d  the  Hon.  Lit 
tlejohn  pursue  to  the  death,  with  the  most  relentless  hate, 
the  man  who  crossed  his  path,  or  refused  to  acknowledge 
his  superiority  by  the  most  unqualified  and  absolute  abne- 


JUDGE,  JURY,  AND  EXECUTIONER.       37 

gation  of  all  manly  independence.  His  intercourse  with 
those  in  his  power  was  marked  by  the  most  intolerant 
haughtiness,  and  with  others,  by  the  most  perfect  contempt 
for  their  opinions  while  allowing  no  one  to  dispute  his  own. 

To  a  few  leading  business  men  and  politicians  of  the 
State,  he  at  this  time  assumed  a  liberality  and  bonhommit 
that  was  utterly  at  variance  with  his  true  nature ;  but  the 
absolute  necessity  for  the  furthering  and  carrying  out  of 
the  ambitious  career  he  had  marked  for  himself  compelled 
him,  for  the  time  being,  to  dissemble  to  every  one  but  those 
who  were  completely  at  his  mercy. 

Such  was  the  man  in  whose  hands  were  placed  the  for 
tune,  and  to  a  very  perilous  extent,  the  shaping  of  young 
Hamilton's  career.  At  seventeen  the  young  mind  is  very 
pliable,  and  easily  biased  for  good  or  evil  by  surrounding 
circumstance.  The  possession  of  an  independent  income 
at  an  early  age,  a  bright  imagination  and  complete  mas 
ter  of  one's  own  actions,  Byron  said,  was  one  of  the  most 
unfortunate  and  dangerous  positions  a  young  man  could 
be  placed  in ;  and  this  was  the  situation  in  which  Larry 
Hamilton  found  himself.  During  his  minority,  with  no 
kind  and  restraining  hand  to  warn,  and  with  ample  means, 
he  had  led  a  rather  wild  life,  running  into  numerous 
excesses. 

But  his  keenly-sensitive  and  proud  nature  revolted  from 
common  vice,  and,  fortunately  for  him,  a  delicate  organiza 
tion  entailed  so  much  suffering  after  any  excess  that  a  con 
tinuous  course  of  dissipation  was  almost  a  physical  impos 
sibility,  and  swift  suicide  in  a  very  painful  form. 

He  matured  quickly,  and  when  he  had  attained  his 
majority  was  already  a  thorough  man  of  the  world. 

The  contrast  between  his  gay  life  and  that  of  the  steady- 


38  ARMOUR. 

going  young  men  of  the  place,  while  it  diminished  his 
influence  in  certain  ways,  on  the  other  hand  enhanced  his 
reputation.  He  was  looked  upon  as  a  lusus  natura,  and 
the  charitably  disposed  divided  the  human  race,  for  his  sake 
into  men,  women,  and  Larry  Hamilton. 


MRS.  ASHTOWS  PARTY.  39 


CHAPTER  V. 
MRS.  ASHTON'S  PARTY. 

THRONGS  of  handsome  men  and  well-dressed  women, 
were  congregated  in  the  spacious  and  elegantly-furnished 
parlors  of  the  old  Ashton  mansion,  and  as  young  Hamil 
ton  and  Emily  Charlton  passed  through  the  halls,  the  daz 
zling  lights  reflected  from  the  old-fashioned  chandeliers, 
the  delicate  perfume  of  many  flowers,  the  sweet  strains  of 
waltzing  music,  the  dancing,  the  rustling  of  silk,  like  a 
breeze  through  tree  tops,  and  the  undertone  of  pleasant 
excitement  which  generally  pervades  such  occasions, 
formed  a  scene  well  calculated  to  animate  even  the  older 
people. 

The  hostess  was  in  ecstacy  at  the  telat  with  which  the 
affair  was  passing  off,  and  charmed  with  the  buoyant  ani 
mation  with  which  all  the  guests  seemed  inclined  to  con 
tribute  their  quota  to  the  evening's  amusement. 

During  a  pause  in  the  dancing,  while  the  guests  were 
chatting  and  enjoying  themselves,  there  was  a  subdued 
hush,  and  every  eye  was  turned  to  the  door,  as  Ralph  Adair 
entered  the  room  with  his  sister  and  her  New  York  friend, 
Miss  Emory,  who  had  arrived  the  evening  before.  It  was 
an  embarrassing  moment  for  Fannie,  this  being  her  first 
party,  and  while  outwardly  calm  and  self-possessed,  she 
afterwards  declared  she  was  almost  ready  to  faint  when 
she  realized  the  sensation  that  their  appearance  had  evi 
dently  produced. 

Her  debut  was  a  decided   success,   as   her  friend,  al- 


40  ARMOUR. 

though  a  very  refined  and  stylish-looking  girl,  did  not 
for  a  moment  compare  with  1'annie  in  personal  charms. 
Fannie's  beauty  was  of  the  kind  the  old  masters  of  the 
Titian  school  raved  over,  —  petite,  well  rounded  and  vo 
luptuous  in  form,  with  sparkling  dark  blue  eyes,  and  hair 
of  that  rich,  bright  shade  of  auburn  so  very  difficult  to  de 
scribe,  a  blending  of  dark  auburn  with  the  golden  tint,  but 
with  a  warm  reddish  hue  predominating ;  she  also  possessed 
the  brilliant  complexion  which  generally  accompanies  this 
color  of  hair.  Her  skin  was  so  perfectly  transparent,  that 
often,  to  her  own  embarrassment  and  the  admiration  of 
others,  every  emotion  was  plainly  depicted  in  the  ebb  and 
flow  of  her  rich  coloring. 

The  unusual  brilliancy  of  her  complexion,  indeed,'  inva 
riably  attracted  attention,  and  was  frequently  a  cause  of 
great  annoyance  to  the  young  girl,  especially  on  the  crowded 
thoroughfares  of  a  large  city.  Her  mouth  simply  defied 
description.  The  upper  lip  was  short,  and  in  its  delicate 
and  exquisite  curving  reminded  one  of  Cupid's  bow,  while 
the  nether  was  full  and  pouting.  It  was  a  sensitive  and 
mobile  mouth,  and  when  her  deep  carmine  lips  were  parted, 
in  smiling  and  animated  conversation,  disclosing  the  even, 
white  teeth,  the  word  rose-bud  was  but  a  poor  comparison. 
It  was  the  mouth  of  a  rich,  loving  disposition,  and  clearly 
intended  by  Dame  Nature  for  the  express  purpose  of  kiss 
ing. 

Her  face  was  pure  and  artless  as  a  child's,  but  by  no 
means  characterless ;  as  every  one  soon  found,  after  a  few 
minute's  conversation  with  Fannie  Adair,  that  with  all  her 
pleasant  and  artless  gayety,  there  was  an  undercurrent 
of  thoughtfulness  and  good  sense  that  surprised  them. 
Without  any  pretensions  to  being  a  literateur,  she  was  ex 
ceedingly  well  informed,  and  a  great  reader.  Her  mother 


MRS.  AS ff TON'S  PARTY.  41 

had  watched  her  course  with  the  greatest  care  and  solici 
tude,  and  encouraged  in  her  a  taste  for  reading  of  a  higher 
order,  and  on  subjects  generally  considered  too  solid  for 
young  ladies  in  their  teens. 

Of  a  happy  disposition,  and  possessing  a  bright  and 
sunny  temper,  she  was  at  the  same  time  high-spirited,  and 
a  young  lady  who  could  always  take  her  own  part  when  it 
was  necessary  to  do  so.  And  this  was  the  young  lady 
who,  with  the  assistance  of  her  friend,  Emily  Charlton, 
intended  to  settle  the  pretensions  of  the  two  young  gentle 
men  who  had  lorded  it  so  long,  socially,  in  Armour ;  and 
she  was  confident  in  her  ability  to  rout  the  haughty  enemy, 
"  horse,  foot,  and  dragoons." 

As  the  three  stood  conversing  together,  they  were  soon 
joined  by  Malcolm  Conyngham  and  Emily  Charlton.  A 
quadrille  was  forming,  and  Conyngham,  who  was  rather  diffi 
dent  about  showing  off  his  awkwardness  in  dancing,  soon 
found  himself  going  through  the  intricate  figures  of  a  new 
quadrille  with  Fannie's  friend,  Miss  Emory.  This  lady 
had  evidently  practiced  to  perfection  the  art  of  making 
herself  attractive  and  agreeable,  —  especially  so  to  gentle 
men,  —  and  Conyngham,  very  much  to  his  surprise,  found 
his  hands  alternately  touching  the  lovely  palms  of  the 
stranger,  —  a  sensation  which,  for  his  cold  nature,  was 
decidedly  novel  and  pleasant. 

She  was  an  accomplished  and  graceful  dancer,  and 
while  helping  him  through  the  intricate  figures,  she  did  it 
without  embarrassing  him,  and,  at  the  same  time,  with 
such  exquisite  tact,  that  she  made  a  decided  and  pleasant 
impression  on  him ;  and  when  the  dancing  was  over,  as 
they  promenaded  the  room,  flushed  with  pleasure  and 
excitement,  she  assured  him  with  a  silvery  smile,  that  he 
was  a  splendid  dancer. 


42  ARMOUR. 

While  Malcolm  knew  he  was  not,  he  could  not  but  help 
feeling  pleased  at  her  evident  desire  to  relieve  him  of  any 
sensitiveness  he  may  have  felt  over  the  mistakes  he  had 
made;  and  as  he  listened  to  her  lively  and  intelligent 
conversation  on  different  topics,  and  looked  into  her  bright, 
animated  face,  he  sighed,  and  wondered  if  he  would 
always  be  a  bachelor.  And  O,  sordid  of  mortals!  he 
wondered,  also,  if  she  was  as  wealthy  as  rumor  had  credited 
her  with  being. 

It  was  apparently  love  at  first  sight ;  and  as  they  rejoined 
the  group,  while  Emily  was  congratulating  him  on  his  suc 
cess  in  going  through  the  new  figures,  he  stared  vacantly, 
and  replied,  "  Yes,  yes ;  I  believe  so,"  in  such  an  absent 
manner,  that  Fannie  rallied  him  with  having  lost  his  head 
as  well  as  his  heart,  and  declared  she  would  warn  her 
friend  of  what  a  gay  deceiver  he  had  proven  in  the  past. 

"  Emily  has  kept  me  well-informed  of  all  that  has  hap 
pened  since  I  left,"  she  laughingly  remarked,  "and  I  feel 
it  incumbent  on  me,  as  her  friend,  to  enlighten  Lou  a 
little,  or  she  might  think  you  were  really  the  unsophisti 
cated  youth  you  have  been  trying  to  make  her  believe  you 
are." 

"  I  guess  Miss  Emily  does  not  consider  me  so  danger 
ous  as  to  require  any  warning,"  replied  Conyngham,  rather 
dryly. 

He  never  liked  badinage,  particularly  before  strangers, 
as  it  infringed  too  much  on  \nsfra-dig. 

"  Where  is  Larry  Hamilton  ? "  suddenly  inquired  Con 
yngham.  "  I  have  not  seen  him  dancing  all  the  evening, 
and  it  is  not  often  he  misses  the  opportunity." 

"There  he  stands,  over  by  the  window,  looking  as  blue 
as  if  he  had  lost  his  last  friend.  What  in  the  world  is 
wrong  with  him,"  queried  Emily,  with  some  feeling; 


MAS.  ASIfTOWS  PARTY.  43 

"why,  I  never  saw  Larry  Hamilton  look  so  distrait  in  my 
life." 

"  I  suspect  he  and  his  trustee  have  had  another  of  theii 
little  differences,"  laughed  Ralph,  "and  Littlejohn  has 
likely  been  scolding  him  over  his  bills,  or  stopped  the 
money  on  him ;  that  is  about  the  only  thing  I  know  that 
would  make  Hamilton  sad.  And  a  humiliating  position 
it  is  for  a  high-spirited  young  fellow  like  Hamilton,"  he 
continued,  "  to  have  his  money  doled  out  to  him  in  trifling 
sums,  like  a  school-boy ;  my  only  wonder  is  that  he  don't 
have  the  blues  all  the  time." 

"  Yes,"  said  Conyngham,  "  this  thing  of  being  a  poor 
rich  man,  with  all  the  refined  tastes  and  sensitiveness  of  a 
gentleman,  and  with  the  reputation  of  being  wealthy,  and 
not  allowed  to  handle  his  principal,  is  hard  enough,  but  it 
is  much  more  mortifying  to  have  even  his  income  tied  up 
with  irritating  provisos.  I  often  wonder  he  don't  get 
completely  disgusted,  and  let  the  whole  thing  slide." 

The  object  of  these  remarks  stood,  with  arms  folded, 
leaning  by  a  window  at  the  other  end  of  the  room, 
somewhat  retired  from  the  rest  of  the  company,  evidently 
in  a  deep  reverie,  and  far  from  the  present  scene  and  its 
hilarity. 

The  bright  eyes  of  beautiful  women,  sparkling  with 
animation  and  joyous  excitement,  appeared  to  have  no 
attraction  for  him  ;  his  face  expressed  so  much  of  mental 
suffering,  and  such  an  absence  of  hope  and  deep  shade  of 
gloom,  that  pretty  little  Fannie  Adair's  sympathetic  heart 
warmed  towards  him,  and  she  forgot  all  about  her  deter 
mination  to  be  dignified  and  haughty.  As  their  eyes  met, 
Hamilton  started  from  his  revery  as  if  from  a  dream, 
aroused  himself,  and  seemed  determined  to  make  up  for 
his  former  unsociability  by  striving  to  be  agreeable  ;  and, 


44  AX  MO  UK. 

joining  the  group,  he  shook. hands  and  entered  into  con* 
versation  so  cordially,  that  in  a  few  moments  they  were 
perfectly  en  rapport,  and  Fannie  and  he  were  the  very 
best  of  friends. 

They  met  like  friends  who  had  parted  the  day  before, 
instead  of  after  a  year's  absence.  Hamilton's  whole  man 
ner  and  countenance  changed,  and  no  one  would  have 
recognized  him  as  the  disconsolate  and  gloomy-looking 
young  gentleman  of  a  few  moments  before. 

Offering  his  arm  to  Fannie,  they  joined  the  group 
around  a  lady  who  was  called  upon  to  entertain  the  com 
pany  with  music.  She  sang  a  sweet,  plaintive,  and  old- 
fashioned  air,  which  was  one  of  Larry's  favorites,  and  the 
deep  swell  of  the  music,  together  with  Fannie's  presence, 
had  a  stimulating  effect  upon  him  ;  and  after  the  song  was 
finished  he  began  a  gay  conversation  with  the  smiling 
rosy-lipped  girl  beside  him. 

His  manners  were  elegant  and  graceful,  and  his  atten 
tions  were  evidently  not  unacceptable  to  the  sweet  girl 
who  was  hanging  on  his  arm,  nor  to  those  who  joined 
her  for  a  share  of  the  gentleman's  conversation. 

Conyngham  lacked  the  ease  and  self-possession  which 
distinguished  his  friend,  and  was  brusque  and  matter-of- 
fact.  With  all  the  advantages  of  great  wealth  and  his 
father's  position,  he  had  never  succeeded  in  acquiring 
that  peculiar  ease  of  manner  and  charming  debonair  which 
seemed  so  natural  to  Hamilton.  Or  was  it  inherited? 
We  inherit  other  peculiarities  of  mind  and,  manner  from 
our  ancestors,  and  why  not  this  undefinable  savoir  faire, 
which  so  unmistakably  make  the  gentleman  to  the  manor 
born,  and  which  never  fails  to  give  its  fortunate  possessor 
an  advantage  and  a  charm  in  social  circles  that  no  amount 
of  wealth  or  worldly  advantage  can  purchase.  Nor  can 


ASHTOWS  PARTY.  45 

early  association  give  more  than  a  veneering  of  this  inde 
scribable  quiet  ease  and  unobtrusive  self-respect,  which, 
without  any  conscious  effort  on  the  part  of  its  possessor, 
repels  familiarity  and  rudeness  without  giving  offence,  and 
proves  such  a  wholesome  check  to  the  insolent  preten 
sions  of  the  parvenu. 

The  evening  passed  off  pleasantly,  and  it  was  long  aftet 
midnight  before  they  were  aware  of  the  fact  that  even  the 
most  pleasant  of  parties,  like  everything  else  in  this 
world,  must  have  an  end. 


46  ARMOUR. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

BETTER   THAT   HE   WERE   DEAD. 

As  Ralph  Adair  had  correctly  surmised,  the  cause  of 
Hamilton's  depression  early  in  the  evening  was  owing  to 
an  interview  he  had  had  with  his  trustee,  and,  as  was 
usually  the  case,  was  like  bringing  together  flint  and 
steel. 

Having  attained  his  majority  a  few  months  before,  and 
fulfilled  every  condition  necessary  in  order  to  claim  seve 
ral  thousand  dollars  of  surplus  income  which  had  accumu 
lated  during  his  minority,  he  had  called  upon  his  trustee 
that  afternoon,  and  insisted  on  its  being  paid  over  to  him  ; 
but,  as  usual,  the  Hon.  Littlejohn  had  found  some  tech 
nical  reason  for  withholding  it,  and  the  interview  had  not 
only  been  rather  florid,  but  ended  even  more  angrily  than 
such  interviews  generally  did. 

The  climax  was  reached  when  Littlejohn  produced  a 
letter,  which  was  in  answer  to  one  he  had  a  few  days  pre 
viously  written,  at  Hamilton's  urgent  request,  to  a  gentle 
man  at  the  head  of  a  large  business  enterprise  in  a  neigh 
boring  city,  asking  for  him  a  position  in  which  he  could 
acquire  some  practical  knowledge  of  business  affairs,  with 
out  regard  to  salary,  in  order  to  enable  him  to  judiciously 
and  intelligently  invest  some  capital,  which,  by  his  father's 
will,  he  would  in  a  few  years  be  entitled  to,  providing  it 
met  the  approval  of  his  trustee,  and  that  he  be  engaged  at 
the  time  in  some  legitimate  pursuit. 

Larry  had  succeeded,  by  the  most  humiliating  and  con- 


BETTER  THAT  HE   WERE  DEAD.         47 

stant  urging  during  the  last  year,  in  persuading  Littlejohn 
to  write  a  number  of  letters  of  this  kind ;  but  from  the  fact 
that  he  had  never  been  permitted  to  read  them,  and  judg 
ing  from  the  tenor  of  the  answers,  he  felt  confident  the 
recommendations  were  not  at  all  flattering  to  him,  and 
were  calculated  to  injure  him.  Reading  their  replies  to 
Larry  always  seemed  to  give  Littlejohn  the  greatest 
amusement  and  satisfaction,  and  they  never  failed  to  irri 
tate  Hamilton  to  the  highest  degree. 

This  one  he  now  produced.  "Judging  from  his  unc 
tuous  and  unusually  bland  manner,  it  must  be  exceedingly 
unpleasant  to  me,"  Larry  said  to  himself,  as  Littlejohn, 
with  an  expression  of  the  greatest  benevolence,  settled 
himself  back  into  his  easy  chair ;  and  after  two  or  three 
preliminary  clearings  of  the  throat,  proceeded,  while  care 
fully  noting  the  effect  of  each  line  on  his  hearer,  to  roll 
out,  as  if  it  were  a  sweet  morsel,  from  under  his  tongue, 
the  following :  — 

PHILADELPHIA,  Oct.  25,  1861. 
HON.  JOHN  LITTLEJOHN, — 

"  Yours,  in  which  you  asked  me  if  I  could  find  some 
position,  in  one  of  my  establishments,  for  a  ward  of  yours, 
named  Lawrence  J.  Hamilton,  received. 

"  I  had  a  nephew  who  answered  your  ward's  description 
exactly,  and,  according  to  your  account  of  his  disposition 
and  habits,  the  two  were  much  alike. 

"In  order  to  reform  him  we  sent  him  off  on  a  whaling 
voyage  for  a  two  years'  cruise,  hoping  it  would  either 
kill  or  cure  him.  It  did  neither,  and  at  the  expiration 
of  that  time  he  returned,  only  confirmed  in  his  former  bad 
habits  ;  and  even  worse  than  before.  Much  to  the  relief 
of  all  his  relatives  and  friends  he  died  a  short  time  after ; 


48  ARMOUR. 

and  I  think  it  would  be  better  for  your  ward  and   his 
friends  if  he  would  go  and  do  likewise. 

"  Very  truly  yours, 

"CALEB  COPPE." 

At  the  conclusion  of  this  heartless  and  cruel  letter,  Lit- 
tlejohn  could  no  longer  restrain  himself,  and  his  mean  and 
unmanly  satisfaction,  as  he  gazed  at  poor  Larry's  amazed 
and  indignant  countenance,  seemed  only  to  increase  his 
untimely  and  heartless  hilarity. 

With  an  angry  imprecation  and  a  loud  oath,  Hamilton, 
stung  to  madness,  lost  all  control  of  himself,  and,  picking 
up  his  hat,  he  rushed  from  the  room  and  the  hated  pres 
ence  of  his  tormeirtor,  grinding  his  teeth  with  suppressed 
rage  and  anger,  and  biting  his  lips  until  the  blood  started. 

The  iron,  from  that  moment,  entered  Hamilton's  soul, 
and  he  was  a  changed  man  thereafter,  with  a  fixed  and  de 
termined  purpose  in  life.  Henceforth,  he  would  live  to 
show  the  world  and  this  cold  and  cruel  tyrant  that  it 
would  not  be  better  for  himself  and  his  friends  that  he 
were  dead,  and  he  resolved  that  he  would  yet  live  to  see 
the  day  when  he  would  compel  this  heartless  man  to  ac 
knowledge  the  fact  and  regret  the  course  he  had  pursued 
towards  him. 

Hurrying  home  and  locking  himself  in  his  room,  he  threw 
himself  on  a  lounge,  and  gave  himself  up  to  gloomy  and 
dismal  forebodings. 

The  cheerful  blaze  of  the  grate-fire  failed  to  impart 
any  of  its  brightness  to  his  gloomy  and  perturbed  mind. 
The  proud  fellow  was  completely  broken  and  humbled. 

That  his  worst  enemy  could  have  given  him  such  a 
character  he  could  scarcely  believe  possible.  It  was  like 


BETTER  THAT  HE   WERE  DEAD.         49 

a  staggering  blow  in  the  face,  and,  with  half-closed  eyes, 
he  sat  wondering  if  others  had  formed  the  same  opinion 
of  him  as  Littlejohn.  His  heart  ached  with  mortified 
pride  and  wounded  sensibility. 

Hamilton's  was  one  of  those  finely-fibered  and  sensitive 
natures,  keenly  susceptible  to  wounding  and  injury,  and 
as  he  sat,  with  his  head  resting  on  his  hands,  in  the  fast 
fading  twilight,  his  head  dropped  lower  and  lower,  while 
the  brooding  frown  upon  his  brow  darkened  into  a  deep 
scowl.  It  was  a  sad  contrast  to  the  usually  gay  and  lively 
Larry  Hamilton. 

As  he  thought  of  his  past  life,  hollow  and  unsatisfying, 
and  his  fruitless  attempts  during  the  last  year  to  connect  him 
self  with  some  business,  and  his  present,  dull  and  hopeless 
and  devoid  of  endeavor,  his  future  seemed  cheerless  and 
forbidding.  He  had  thought  of  pursuing  the  study  of  the 
legal  profession,  but  Littlejohn  had  ridiculed  the  very  idea 
of  his  ever  being  enabled  to  achieve  success  in  it,  and  so 
discouraged  him  by  exaggerating  the  drudgery  and  the 
tediousness  of  the  profession,  that  a  less  sanguine  person 
than  Larry  would  have  been  disheartened :  and  he  wound 
up  his  peroration  by  stating  that  unless  a  young  man  was 
classically  educated,  it  was  useless  for  him  to  enter  the 
list  with  the  expectations  of  being  anything  more  than 
one  of  the  innumerable  small  pettifoggers  and  shysters  who, 
under  the  name  of  attorneys,  manage  to  eke  out  a  precari 
ous  existence,  by  resorting  to  practices  that  no  honorable 
man  would  stoop  to. 

The  latter  argument  conclusively  settled  all  doubts  in 
Hamilton's  mind.  If  he  had  informed  himself  he  would 
have  learned  that  nearly  all  our  great  men  are  not  col 
lege  graduates. 

His  was  no  shallow  nature,  nor  was  he  content  with 


50  ARMOUR. 

feeding  on  the  dry  husks  of  frivolous  pleasure.  Under 
neath  his  light  and  gay  exterior  there  was  another  and 
different  side  to  his  character.  He  was  far  deeper  and 
more  thoughtful  than  surface  indications  would  seem  to 
denote,  and  while  hitherto  a  pursuer  of  trifles,  a  trifler 
he  was  not  by  any  means.  Possessing  the  coolest  and 
most  reckless  courage,  and  known  to  be  a  man  whose  de 
termination  recognized  no  obstacles,  he  was  one  of  those 
men  about  whom  there  always  seem  to  cling  a  mystery ; 
and  while  as  winning  as  a  woman,  he  had  an  iron  will  and 
an  adaptability  which  made  him  feared  by  the  worst  types  of 
men.  The  most  elegant  of  gentlemen  in  the  drawing- 
room,  he  was  one  of  the  most  dangerous  of  men  in  a  quar 
rel,  although  never  the  aggressor. 

That  he  would  lead  an  ordinary  life,  no  one  believed 
who  knew  him  well,  and  if  in  the  future  the  fickle  goddess 
of  fortune  offered  him  half  a  chance,  he  would  not  be 
slow  to  avail  himself  of  her  kindness.  He  had  great  am 
bition  to  make  a  brilliant  name  for  himself,  and  was  anx 
ious  to  make  money ;  not,  like  his  friend  Conyngham,  to 
gratify  a  natural  avarice,  and  a  brutal  lust  for  power,  but 
for  the  pleasure  it  would  bring  to  him  and  his  friends,  and 
the  gratification  of  a  natural  and  creditable  ambition  to 
make  for  himself  some  reputation. 

Mrs.  Hamilton  and  Larry  were  more  like  brother  and  sis 
ter  than  mother  and  son.  Her  boy  was  her  idol  as  she 
was  his,  and  if  Larry  had  not  naturally  been  inclined 
towards  an  ambitious  career,  his  love  and  desire  to  please 
his  mother  would  have  been  of  itself  more  than  a  suffi 
cient  stimulus. 

While  the  blow  from  Littlejohn  had  been  a  cruel  one, 
%nd  hurt  him  to  the  death,  no  doubt  it  was  the  very  thing 


BETTER  THAT  HE  WERE  DEAD.    51 

needed  to  crystalize  his  wavering  purposes,  and  fully  de 
termined  him  to  change  his  mode  of  life. 

He  had  gone  to  Mrs.  Ashton's  party  in  a  most  desperate 
and  unhappy  frame  of  mind,  but  the  pleasant  party,  and 
Fannie  Adair's  sweet  presence  and  cheerful  conversation 
had  acted  like  a  glass  of  old  wine  upon  him ;  and  when  he 
awoke  the  next  morning,  and  looked  out  on  the  clear,  bright 
sunshine  of  a  beautiful,  bracing  October  day,  the  storm 
had  blown  over,  and  all  within  was  peaceful  and  serene. 

At  twenty-one,  one  does  not  feel  very  sad  very  long. 

As  he  rode  by  the  Adair  mansion  that  morning,  he  could 
scarcely  refrain  from  looking  back,  in  order  to  catch  an 
other  glimpse  of  Fannie's  bright  face  in  the  window.  And 
he  wondered  if  she  was  as  bright  and  lovely  at  home  as  he 
had  found  her  to  be  in  society.  "  If  she  is,"  he  mentally 
exclaimed,  "  that  man  who  is  fortunate  enough  to  win  her 
will  secure  a  prize." 


52  ARMOUR. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

CUPIp  ON   HORSEBACK. 

Miss  EMORY'S  visit  seemed  to  revive  the  drooping  gaye- 
ties  of  the  quiet,  old  town ;  and  after  her  arrival  the  place 
was  as  lively  in  a  social  way,  as  even  these  pleasure-loving 
young  people  could  have  desired. 

Horseback  parties  were  the  order  of  the  day,  and  fur 
nished  the  principal  amusement.  These  riding  parties 
generally  consisted  of  Ralph  and  Fannie  Adair,  Miss  Em 
ory  and  Emily  Charlton,  and  of  course,  Lords  Conyngham 
and  Hamilton. 

That  so  many  young  people  could  be  thrown  together 
under  circumstances  so  pleasant,  and  so  favorable  to  the 
development  of  the  tender  passion,  and  escape  the  fiery 
darts  of  Cupid,  was  hardly  probable ;  and  the  little  god 
had  not  failed  to  avail  himself  of  the  golden  opportunity, 
but  had  been  unusually  active,  and,  for  the  time  being 
seemed  to  have  established  himself  permanently  with  the 
party,  and  devoted  to  them  his  undivided  attention. 

Like  most  of  the  young  people  of  wealthy  families  in 
small  country  places,  they  were  all  good  riders,  and  thor 
oughly  at  home  on  horseback.  The  amusements,  as  a 
rule,  in  these  places,  are  so  few  that  the  keeping  of  horses 
by  those  who  have  the  means,  and  plenty  of  leisure,  be 
comes  almost  a  necessity,  where  the  refined  recreations  of 
the  rostrum  and  the  opera,  and  the  excitement  and  advan 
tages  of  a  large  and  constantly  changing  society  are  denied 
them. 


CUPID  ON  HORSEBACK.  53 

Emily  and  Fannie  were  both  dashing  and  accomplished 
equestriennes,  and  could  vie  with  their  gentleman  friends 
in  graceful  and  fearless  riding;  but,  unfortunately  foi 
Miss  Emory,  even  with  the  best  hackney  that  Conyngham 
could  procure,  she  made  but  a  sorry  figure,  and,  at  a  rapid 
pace,  clung  to  the  saddle, —  a  position  which  rendered 
graceful  riding  out  of  all  question.  Often  unable  to  keep 
up  with  their  rapid  pace,  she  was  compelled  to  follow 
at  a  more  moderate  gait ;  and  Malcolm  was  only  too  well 
satisfied  to  remain  with  her,  and  congratulated  himself  on 
the  good  fortune  which  afforded  him  such  fine  opportuni 
ties  for  love  making. 

Of  course,  Ralph  was  not  expected  to  ride  with  his  sis 
ter,  and  thus  Larry  generally  rode  with  Fannie, —  an 
arrangement  not  entirely  satisfactory  to  either  Emily 
Charlton  or  himself.  For  several  years  back  the  two  had 
been  constantly  together,  and,  without  suspecting  it,  they 
had  become  more  attached  to  each  other  than  they  were 
aware  of. 

Emily  had  such  a  confiding  way  of  nestling  up  to  him, 
and  was  so  dependent  on  his  society,  that  it  not  only  flat 
tered  him,  but,  unconsciously,  secured  for  her  a  danger 
ously  warm  place  in  his  affections.  As  yet,  he  had  never 
thought  it  worth  while  to  analyze  his  feelings ;  and  he 
always  looked  upon  her  as  a  very  dear  friend.  But  Pla 
tonic  friendship  with  a  girl  like  Emily  Charlton,  was  dan 
gerous  ground  for  a  young  gentleman  with  ample  leisure, 
a  warm  imagination,  and  a  free  fancy.  If  in  his  own  mind 
he  had  ever  seriously  contemplated  her  in  a  matrimonial 
light,  he  had  always  a  fear  that  her  love  of  admiration 
and  inordinate  fondness  for  dress,  which,  while  now  a 
harmless  weakness  might,  in  a  married  woman,  prove  to 
be  objectionable  traits,  and  perhaps,  in  the  future,  be  the 


54  ARMOUR. 

cause  of  considerable  discomfort,  if  not  of  actual  unhap- 
piness. 

She  was  very  ambitious,  and  he  was  satisfied  that  it 
would  go  hard  with  the  man  who  married  her,  if  the  day 
should  ever  come  when  he  could  not  gratify  her  tastes  in 
that  direction.  Emily  was  intensely  magnetic,  and  her 
presence  never  failed  to  excite  Hamilton's  emotional 
nature  to  the  utmost ;  but  so  coy  and  cautious  had  she 
always  been,  that  when  carried  away  by  the  impetuosity 
of  his  feelings,  and  about  to  make  a  declaration,  she 
would,  at  the  dangerous  moment,  and  in  some  incom 
prehensible  way,  drift  him  away  from  his  intentions,  al 
though,  at  the  same  time,  with  eyes  beaming  full  upon 
him  with  the  most  tender  and  ardent  expression,  but  con 
veying  to  him  a  vague  impression  that,  if  he  attempted 
any  advances  he  would  most  certainly  be  repulsed,  and 
probably  lose  her  friendship  and  regard. 

Emily  thought  of  Larry  as  a  friend  who  had  grown 
near  to  her  through  the  natural  cords  of  sympathy  and 
association.  The  truth  was,  they  were  both  enamored  of 
each  other,  and  at  that  stage  of  la  grande  passion  when 
too  precipitate  action  will  mar  its  perfect  completion ;  but 
with  her  the  glamour  of  love  had  not  advanced  far  enough 
to  blind  her  judgment.  While  both  romantic  and  senti 
mental,  yet  when  viewing  her  future,  even  at  this  stage,  she 
was  perfectly  well  aware  of  the  risk  she  ran  in  marrying  a 
man  of  Hamilton's  unstable  habits.  At  the  same  time,  if 
she  had  consulted  her  own  heart,  and  if  worldly  consid 
erations  could  have  been  made  an  odd  factor,  or  have 
been  left  entirely  out  of  consideration,  he  was  the  man 
she  would  have  chosen  for  her  heart's  idol,  and  he  alone 
could  have  perfectly  satisfied  her  loving  disposition. 

In  their  temperaments,  and    in    the   intensity  of   their 


CUPID  ON  HORSEBACK.  55 

feelings,  they  were  as  much  alike  as  a  man  and  woman 
could  be. 

But  Emily  could  never  stimulate  Hamilton's  more  in 
tellectual  nature,  nor  give  to  him  the  comfort  and  rest 
that  he  found  in  the  society  of  Fannie  Adair.  While 
Fanny  never  inspired  him  with  the  passion  which  Emi 
ly's  presence  never  failed  to  excite ;  yet  in  time  of 
trouble,  or  when  desiring  to  converse  on  any  subject  which 
required  thought,  and  above  the  range  of  ordinary  society 
topics,  it  was  always  to  Fannie  Adair,  and  not  to  Emily 
Charlton,  he  went ;  and  it  seemed  the  most  natural  thing 
in  the  world  for  him  to  do  so. 

In  view  of  Miss  Emory's  visit  drawing  to  a  close, 
the  gentlemen  had  arranged  for  one  grand  horseback 
party  before  her  departure ;  and  the  day  appointed  for  the 
ride  could  not  have  been  more  delightful  and  propitious- 
It  was  Indian  summer,  and  as  the  gay  cavalcade  dashed 
down  the  long,  quiet  streets  of  Armour  that  soft  dreamy 
afternoon  even  Mr.  Bryon  —  the  staid  and  dignified 
banker  —  turned,  and  as  he  gazed  after  them  involuntarily 
sighed,  and  envied  them  their  high  health  and  youthful 
spirits.  He  would  willingly,  that  moment,  have  given  his 
fortune  to  have  changed  places  with  them  as  they  swept 
by,  laughing  merrily,  with  their  long,  gayly-colored  plumes 
curling  gracefully  from  their  chic  little  riding  hats,  and 
which  Larry,  always  with  an  eye  to  the  picturesque,  had 
insisted  upon  each  lady  wearing;  their  neat-fitting  and 
elegant  habits,  prancing  steeds,  and  dashing  cavaliers  cur 
vetting  on  their  fiery  and  high-mettled  thorough-breds, 
all  combined  to  make  a  lively  and  exciting  spectacle. 

Both  Conyngham  and  Hamilton  were  exceptionally  fine 
horseman,  even  amongst  fine  riders,  although  their  style 


56  ARAfOUR. 

of  riding,  seats  in  the  saddle,  and  the  management  of  their 
steeds,  were  entirely  different  and  characteristic  of  the  two 
men,  but  in  perfect  keeping  and  harmony  with  the  re 
spective  styles  of  their  masters.  As  they  check  tin  ir 
horses  and  move  slowly  down  the  pike,  Malcolm  sits  his 
horse  like  a  centaur,  perfectly  immovable  in  the  saddle,  and 
as  proud,  stately,  and  upright  as  a  bronze  equestrian  statue. 
He  is  the  very  ideal  of  a  thorough  bred  West  Point  cav 
alry  officer,  and  his  bright,  strong,  and  handsome  bay 
seemed  in  perfect  accord  with  his  master,  as,  champing 
his  bit,  he  marched  proudly  along,  with  high  step,  as  if 
keeping  time  to  slow  martial  music. 

Hamilton  rode  with  all  the  abandon,  dash,  and  careless 
grace  of  a  natural  horseman.  Horse  and  rider  seemed 
moved  as  if  by  one  impulse,  and  animated  by  the  same 
spirit.  Swaying  with  every  motion  of  his  beautiful  black 
mare,  the  two  were  certainly  the  embodiment  and  poetry  of 
motion,  and  suggested  light  waltzing  music. 

Malcolm  rode  like  a  Roundhead,  Hamilton  like  a  dash 
ing  Cavalier. 

Leaving  the  pike  they  ascended  a  high  hill,  which  over 
looked  the  surrounding  country,  the  view  from  which  was 
simply  magnificent.  After  resting  their  horses  for  a  few 
moments,  Emily  proposed  a  good,  wild  gallop,  to  which  all 
joyously  assented.  Ralph,  more  thoughtful  than  the  rest 
of  the  gentlemen,  alighted,  and  after  assuring  himself  that 
the  saddles  were  all  right,  remounted,  and  giving  the  girls 
a  few  words  of  caution,  as  to  keeping  a  tight  rein,  and 
holding  their  horses  well  in  hand,  he  gave  the  word  go, 
and  off  they  started  at  a  brisk  canter.  For  two  miles  the 
road  ran  along  the  brow  of  the  hill,  and  was  as  smooth 
and  level  as  a  floor.  The  canter  speedily  grew  into  a 
wild,  mad  gallop,  and  the  blood  of  the  riders  tingled 


CUPID  ON  HORSEBACK,  57 

with  an  excitement,  which  quickly  communicated  itself 
to  their  horses.  The  gallant  steeds,  each  straining  every 
nerve  to  out-distance  their  fellows,  flew  over  the  road, 
while  their  hoofs  scarcely  seemed  to  touch  the  ground. 
The  wind  whistled  by  them,  and  a  long  cloud  of  dust 
hung  suspended  in  the  air,  far  in  their  rear.  On,  on, 
they  maintained  this  killing  pace  for  over  a  mile,  when, 
sweeping  like  a  whirlwind  around  a  sharp  curve  in  the 
road,  some  of  them  were  almost  unseated,  and  Larry, 
in  the  excitement  of  the  moment  unable  to  resist  a  spirit 
of  reckless  deviltry,  rose  in  his  stirrups  and  gave  out  a  war- 
whoop  an  Apache  would  have  envied.  The  effect,  as 
might  have  been  expected,  was  startling,  —  the  sudden 
apparition,  the  dust  and  noise,  and  the  unearthly  yell,  as 
the  cavalcade  swept  by,  nearly  frightened  some  pedestri 
ans  out  of  their  wits,  and  the  haste  with  which  the  latter 
ran  helter-skelter  down  the  hillside  convulsed  the  party, 
and  finally  compelled  them  to  check  their  mad  pace. 

They  drew  rein  by  a  shady,  little  mountain  spring  on 
the  roadside.  The  party,  with  eyes  sparkling  and  cheeks 
glowing  with  pleasure  and  excitement,  dismounted.  After 
quenching  their  thirst,  the  ladies  proceeded  to  arrange 
their  habits,  while  the  gentlemen  tried  the  saddles,  and, 
where  it  was  necessary,  tightened  the  loosened  girths. 
After  a  few  minutes'  rest  they  remounted,  and  slowly  walk 
ing  their  tired  horses  off  the  steep  ridge,  descended  to 
the  narrow  valley  below,  the  road  through  which  was  in 
deep  shadow  from  the  overhanging  evergreens. 

As  Fannie  and  Larry  rode  some  distance  behind  their 
companions  the  latter  remarked,  in  an  indifferent  tone, 
while  switching  the  overhanging  branches,  as  they  moved 
leisurely  along,  "  I  am  going  to  leave  Armour  in  a  few 
days,  Fannie,  and  perhaps  for  good." 


58  ARMOUR. 

Hamilton  would  have  been  very  obtuse  not  to  have 
observed  the  incredulous  and  wistful,  anxious  look  of  the 
young  girl,  as  she  quickly  turned  her  face  towards  him, 
and  asked,  in  a  dazed,  startled  tone," Going  away!  " 

"  Perhaps  for  good  !  " 

**  What  do  you  mean,  Larry  ? " 

"  Simply  what  I  say.  I  am  going  away  to  do  my  duty 
towards  my  country,  and  to  try  and  make  a  name  for 
myself,  as  I  find  it  impossible  to  do  that  here.  My  life, 
for  several  years  back,  has  been  intolerable,  and  I  can 
endure  it  no  longer.  I  was  never  intended  for  an  aimless 
man  of  pleasure,  —  like  Guy  Norris,  for  instance,  who 
never,  for  a  moment,  feels  the  qualms  of  conscience  which 
are  ever  stirred  by  ambitious  longings  ;  and  who  is  con 
tent  to  be  what  he  is,  a  mere  butterfly  of  fashion,  satisfied 
to  flutter  in  the  sunshine,  and  sail  idly  down  the  river  of 
life,  without  aim  or  object  beyond  the  present,  and  to  die 
at  last,  unhonored  and  unsung.  But  I  am  not  Guy  Norris, 
and  am  miserable,  leading  such  an  existence.  No  opening 
being  presented  here,  and  feeling  somewhat  desperate, 
I  have  resolved  to  enlist  as  a  high  private  in  the  First 
Cavalry.  Jack  Wilmont  informs  me  that  there  will  shortly 
be  an  election  for  a  lieutenancy  in  the  regiment,  which  is 
now  lying  near  Washington  ;  and,  with  Jack's  influence, 
I  may  possibly  be  enabled  to  secure  the  position ;  and 
with  that  end  in  view,  I  will  enlist  in  the  regiment  in  a 
few  days." 

"A  private  soldier!  Why,  Larry,  you  could  never 
endure  the  hardships  of  such  a  life,  and  it  is  the  height  of 
folly  for  you  to  think  of  such  a  thing !  You  will  break 
down  in  a  month.  Can  you  not  get  some  position  at 
home  here  ? " 

"  I  have  tried  in  every  way  possible,"  replied  Hamilton, 


CUPID  ON  HORSEBACK.  59 

"  but  the  very  fates  seemed  leagued  against  me,  and  no 
alternative  is  left  me  but  to  enlist." 

"  If  you  are  determined  on  going  into  the  army,  why  not 
ask  General  Conyngham  to  use  his  influence,  and  secure 
you  an  appointment  in  the  regulars  !  You  and  Malcolm 
are  very  intimate  friends,  and  a  word  from  him  to  his  father 
would  be  sufficient." 

Larry  laughed  bitterly  as  he  replied,  "  General  Conyng 
ham  never  gives  his  influence  unless  you  can  make  some 
handsome  return,  either  in  a  political  or  pecuniary  way, 
equal  to  about  twice  the  value  of  the  favor  he  bestows  ; 
and  if  ever  in  after  life  you  should  be  successful,  he  will 
take  the  credit  of  having  been  the  architect  of  your  for 
tune.  And  should  he  then  ask  a  favor  of  you,  no  matter 
how  great  a  sacrifice  it  might  involve,  even  of  personal 
honor,  and  you  should  refuse  to  do  his  bidding,  no  blood 
hound  would  dog  your  steps  with  more  persistent  hate 
than  he.  As  for  Malcolm,  while  we  are  the  best  of  friends, 
I  know  he  has  too  much  of  his  father  in  him  to  place  my 
self  under  obligations  to  him,  and  I  intend  taking  the  more 
independent  and  manly  cour.se,  and  run  the  risk  like  other 
men." 

The  remainder  of  the  ride  that  afternoon  had  little  of 
pleasure  for  poor  Fannie.  As  they  rejoined  their  compan 
ions  she  endeavored  to  appear  unconcerned,  but  her  de 
jected  appearance  was  the  occasion  of  some  remarks,  and 
the  party  playfully  rallied  her  on  her  woe-be-gone  counte 
nance. 

Numerous  inquiries  were  laughingly  made,  as  to  whether 
they  had  been  quarreling,  and  Fannie  endeavored  to  reply 
in  the  same  playful  spirit,  but  failed,  and  her  face  contin 
ued  to  wear  a  sad  and  thoughtful  expression. 

Hamilton  was  in  high  spirits,  and  he  and  Emily  Charl- 


60  ARMOUR. 

ton,  riding  off  together  at  a  lively  pace,  were  soon  out  of 
sight.  After  proceeding  some  distance,  they  were  warned 
by  the  appearance  of  the  country,  that  they  had  taken  the 
wrong  road,  a  fact  which,  owing  to  the  dense  evergreens 
and  their  rapid  pace,  had  heretofore  escaped  their  observa 
tion.  Turning  their  horses  heads  they  prepared  to  retrace 
their  steps,  but  neither  of  them  seemed  impatient  or  anx 
ious  to  join  their  companions.  The  bright  eyes  of  Emily 
were  sparkling  with  pleasure,  and  Hamilton  seemed  pow 
erless  to  resist  the  tender  glances  of  the  lovely  girl.  His 
heart  beat  rapidly  as  he  thought  that  he  had  never  seen 
her  look  so  bewitching,  when  suddenly,  and  with  a  little 
exclamation  of  fright,  she  reined  in  her  horse  and  re 
marked  that  her  saddle  was  loose.  Larry  quickly  alighted, 
and  on  examination  found  one  of  the  girth-straps  broken, 
to  adjust  which  necessitated  Emily's  dismounting.  As  he 
stood  with  outstretched  arms  to  receive  her,  she  discov 
ered,  on  endeavoring  to  free  her  foot  from  the  stirrup  that 
it  was  fastened,  as  securely  as  if  in  a  vise.  Blushing  and 
with  downcast  eyes  she  made  him  aware  of  the  embarrass 
ing  circumstance.  It  was  a  delicate  matter,  with  the 
long  riding  skirt,  first  to  find  the  little  prisoner,  and  then 
to  free  it ;  but  it  was  finally  accomplished,  and  with  an 
embarrassed  little  laugh  the  glowing,  blushing  beauty, 
slipped  from  the  saddle  into  his  arms.  As  her  eyes  met 
his,  beaming  full  upon  her,  his  face  illuminated  with  pas 
sionate  tenderness,  she  endeavored  to  disengage  herself  \ 
but  he  quickly  caught  the  be'autiful  girl  in  his  arms  and 
pressed  his  burning  lips  to  hers.  It  was  so  suddenly  and 
quietly  done  that  Emily  was  completely  taken  by  surprise, 
but  quickly  recovering  herself,  she  bitterly  reproached  him 
for  taking  such  an  ungentlemanly  advantage  of  her  help 
less  condition.  As  the  indignant  beauty  regained  her 


CUPID  ON  HORSEBACK,  6l 

saddle  she  also  recovered  her  dignity,  and  turning  to  her 
now  repentant  and  humbled  cavalier,  who  was  awkwardly 
making  some  apologies  and  endeavoring  vainly  to  excuse 
himself. 

She  angrily  exclaimed,  "Larry  Hamilton,  do  not  utter 
another  word.  Your  conduct  this  afternoon  has  ended 
our  friendship  forever.  Never  speak  to  me  again  until  I 
can  forgive  this.  You  have  to-day  forfeited  all  my  confi 
dence  ;  and  I  can  never,  as  long  as  I  live,  retain  the  slight 
est  respect  for  you." 

Before  they  arrived  home  that  evening  they  were  better 
friends  than  ever. 

Verily  women  are  a  strange  bundle  of  inconsistencies. 
They  do  not  even  seem  to  understand  themselves  when  a 
little  in  love. 

In  extenuation  of  Larry's  indiscretion  it  must  be  remem 
bered,  these  two  were  old  and  intimate  friends  and  more 
than  half  in  love  with  each  other,  and  while  Hamilton 
might  give  way  in  an  unguarded  moment  to  a  great  ani 
unexpected  temptation,  like  the  one  that  had  just  over 
taken  him,  still  there  was  nothing  premeditated,  or  any  3f 
that  lack  of  moral  principle  which  marks  the  libertine. 

No  man  would  have  scorned  more  than  he  to  have  taken 
undue  advantage  of  either  man  or  woman  ;  but  there  are 
times  in  every  man's  life  when,  under  the  same  circumstan 
ces,  the  most  honorable  of  men  would  have  acted  pre 
cisely  as  he  did,  provided  they  had  possessed  the  same 
temperament. 

Conyngham's  wooing  was  not  of  the  ardent  and  impetu 
ous  kind.  And  as  he  and  Miss  Emory  rode  along  in  the 
cool  moonlight  there  was  very  little  said  by  either  which,  if 
overheard  by  the  rest  of  the  party,  would  have  caused  them 
the  slightest  embarrassment,  or  could  have  been  construed 


62  ARMOUR. 

as  bordering  on  sentiment.  Both  were  remarkably  calcu 
lating  and  secretive  natures,  and,  like  all  such  people,  they 
were  not  much  given  to  demonstration. 

Considered  as  engaged  by  their  companions,  they  were, 
as  if  by  common  consent,  left  together,  and  before  arriving 
home  Conyngham  had,  in  a  calm  matter-of-fact  and  purely 
business-like  manner,  proposed,  and  had  been  as  calmly 
accepted. 

During  Miss  Emory's  visit,  Conyngham  had  spent  every 
spare  evening  at  the  Adair  mansion,  and  remained  so  late 
as  to  sadly  interfere  with  the  old  gentleman's  hours  for 
family  worship.  In  self-defense  the  latter  was  compelled 
to. close  the  shutters  rather  more  violently  than  was  abso 
lutely  necessary  and  not  entirely  in  consonance  with  the 
amiable  character  Mr.  Adair  sustained  in  the  comnfUnity. 
But  it  had  no  effect  whatever.  Malcolm  smiled  grimly  and 
remained. 

The  services  were  held  in  the  dining-room,  and  I  am 
afraid  they  were  not  conducted  in  the  humble  and  devo 
tional  spirit  which  should  animate  such  occasions. 


ALL  A9  NOT  GOLD  THAT  GLITTERS.     65 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

ALL   IS   NOT  GOLD  THAT  GLITTERS. 

LOUISE  EMORY  was  reputed  at  Madam  Clement's  as 
being  the  only  daughter  and  sole  heiress  of  a  lady  of  great 
wealth  and  high  social  position  in  Gotham,  and  reports  of 
her  schoolmates,  who  had  been  so  fortunate  as  to  receive 
invitations  to  visit  Mrs.  Emory  and  her  daughter,  more  than 
confirmed  these  rumors.  In  fact,  the  girls  on  their  return 
to  school  never  tired  talking  of  the  grand  style  of  living 
of  their  hostess,  of  the  elegant  entertainments,  and  the 
distinguished  social  ctftbres  they  had  met. 

Mr.  Emory  had  been  an  extensive  and  very  wealthy  cotton 
broker.  The  bulk  of  his  large  fortune  he  had  inherited, 
and  the  remainder  he  had  amassed  by  years  of  untiring 
devotion  to  business. 

The  Emory's  were  an  old  New  York  family,  and  had, 
from  the  time  that  the  memory  of  the  oldest  society  hack 
runneth  not  to  the  contrary,  moved  in  the  most  refined 
and  cultivated  circles  of  the  very  crime  de  la  creme  of 
Knickerbocker  society.  Their  social  position  had  not  only 
always  been  an  assured  one,  but  an  exceptionally  enviable 
one. 

Most  of  Mr.  Emory's  means  had  been  invested  in  South 
ern  enterprises,  and  dying  several  years  before  the  war 
broke  out,  his  estate  being  unsettled,  the  greater  part  of 
his  handsome  fortune  was  lost.  The  mansion  still  re 
mained,  and  an  amount  that  many  persons  would  have 


64  ARMOUR. 

considered  a  moderate  fortune.  But  Mrs.  Emory  had  no 
idea  whatever  of  the  value  of  money,  and  had  neVer  in  her 
life  known  what  it  was  to  deny  herself  in  anything.  Every 
whim  and  caprice  had  been  gratified,  and  these  habits  had 
become  second  nature  by  long  years  of  unrestrained  in 
dulgence. 

Notwithstanding  the  expostulations  of  the  executor  of 
the  estate,  a  gentleman  who  had  been  one  of  Mr.  Emory's 
partners  and  a  sincere  friend  of  the  family,  she  continued 
to  live  on  in  the  same  old,  extravagant  style,  and  to  spend 
as  lavishly,  and  entertain  as  handsomely,  as  if  there  were 
no  end  to  the  money. 

In  one  sense,  there  was  some  method  in  her  madness. 
Like  a  desperate  gamester  she  had  staked  all  on  one  game, 
and  was  playing  her  last  card.  All  this  lavish  expenditure 
was  planned  and  carried  on  with  the  single  purpose  in 
view,  of  maintaining  their  high  social  position  and  reputa 
tion  for  great  wealth.  If  this  could  be  continued  for  a 
few  more  years,  Lou  might,  as  a  reputed  great  heiress,  make 
a  wealthy  marriage  which  would  amply  compensate  their 
efforts. 

She  had  unquestionably  succeeded  in  maintaining  her 
social  and  financial  reputation,  but  it  was  accomplished  by 
sad  inroads  upon  their  precious  principal.  There  was  no 
half  way  now.  She  had  gone  too  far  in  the  desperate 
game  to  retrace  her  steps ;  and  in  a  year  or  so  at  the  fur 
thest,  Lou  must  either  succeed  or  the  crash  must  come ; 
and  if  the  daughter  did  not  fulfil  her  mother's  expecta 
tions  and  marry  a  rich  man,  there  was  nothing  left  for 
them  but  to  retire  to  some  quiet  country  place  and  move 
in  a  more  humble  sphere.  In  view  of  such  a  very  possi 
ble  contingency,  the  foclish  woman  had,  with  a  foresight 
that  had  never  distinguished  any  action  in  her  life  before, 


ALL  IS  NOT  GOLD  THAT  GLITTERS.      65 

laid  by  and  determined  to  keep  intact  for  such  an  emer 
gency,  a  sum  sufficient  to  keep  them  in  moderately  good 
style  in  a  small  place. 

Owing  to  more  than  ordinary  outlay  during  the  last  sum 
mer  at  Saratoga  and  other  expensive  watering-places,  there 
had  been  so  many  bills  to  pay  on  her  return,  and  obliga 
tions  to  cancel,  that  for  the  first  time  in  her  life  she  found 
it  impossible  to  meet  them. 

In  order  to  escape  a  financial  pressure,  she  had  found  it 
convenient  to  visit  a  sister  in  Albany,  and  sent  Louise  on 
a  long  visit  to  her  friend  and  schoolmate,  Fannie  Adair. 
When  again  recuperated  financially  they  could  renew  the 
struggle. 

Lou  was  early  initiated  into  her  mother's  plans  and  pur 
poses,  and  knew  full  well  how  much  their  future  depended 
upon  her.  And  in  her  daughter  the  mother  found  an  ally 
as  ambitious  and  scheming  as  herself. 

While  at  Madame  Clement's,  Lou  had  heard  of  the  great 
wealth  and  prominence  of  the  Conyngham  family,  and 
when  Fannie  Adair  proposed  a  visit  to  Armour,  she  was 
not  at  all  reluctant  to  take  advantage  of  the  invitation,  and 
while  artfully  pretending  to  be  very  anxious  to  meet  her 
friend  Fannie's  beau  ideal,  Larry  Hamilton,  it  was  of  Mal 
colm  Conyngham  she  thought,  with  high  hopes  of  turning 
their  temporary  economical  shift  into  a  substantial  reali 
zation  of  her  own  and  her  mother's  fond  dream. 

Through  Ralph  Adair,  Malcolm  had  been  apprised  of 
the  prospective  visit  of  the  New  York  heiress,  and  from 
one  of  his  sisters,  who  had  graduated  a  year  after  Miss 
Emory  had  made  her  appearance  at  Madam  Clement's,  he 
had  learned  that  the  rumors  of  her  great  wealth  were  not 
exaggerated,  and  that  when  she  attained  her  majority  she* 


66  ARMOUR. 

would  inherit  one  half  of  her  father's  estate,  which  rumor 
had  placed  at  a  million. 

No  more  sincere  worshipper  of  Mammon  ever  bowed  to 
her  shrine  than  Malcolm  Conyngham.  Even  at  this  early 
age  his  avarice  was  phenomenal,  and  his  inordinate  greed 
for  gain  knew  no  bounds.  His  one  single  aim  in  life  was 
the  gratification  of  this  sordid  appetite,  and  his  only 
maxim  was,  "  to  get  money,  honestly  if  he  could,  but  to 
get  money." 

His  attentions  to  Miss  Emory  at  Mrs.  Ashton's  party 
were  premeditated,  and  with  the  most  mercenary  of  ends 
in  view.  He  would  have  married  the  girl  had  she  been  as 
homely  as  sin  itself,  provided  she  had,  beyond  all  doubt, 
possessed  the  large  fortune  she  had  been  credited  with. 

He  was  very  agreeably  surprised,  on  meeting  her,  to 
find  a  young  lady  of  more  than  ordinary  grace  and  refine 
ment,  with  an  elegant  figure,  and  that  which  he  admired 
more  than  anything  else  in  a  woman,  excepting  a  large 
fortune,  splendid  style,  a  dignified  bearing,  and  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  society,  while  to  these  attractions  she  added 
a  quick  intellect,  and  more  intelligence  than  is  generally 
met  with  in  society  women. 

Very  much  to  his  astonishment,  in  a  short  time  he  dis 
covered  he  loved  the  girl  with  as  much  ardor  as  one  of  his 
cold  and  selfish  nature  could  love  any  one  ;  but  at  the  same 
time  he  was  indefatigable  in  endeavoring  to  ascertain  defi 
nitely,  and  beyond  all  possibility  of  doubt,  if  she  really  in 
herited  the  wealth  reported  to  be  awaiting  her. 

Malcolm  Conyngham  was  not  the  only  one  who  was  fas 
cinated  with  the  stylish  heiress.  Ralph  Adair  worshipped 
the  bright  goddess  afar  off,  and  in  his  good,  honest,  manly 
heart,  he  successfully  buried  the  secret  of  his  hopeless 
attachment.  His  sister  Fannie  never  suspected  the  cause 


ALL  IS  NOT  GOLD  THAT  GLITTERS.     67 

of  Ralph's  unusual  solicitude  for  her  visitor's  comfort,  and 
his  abstracted  manner  when  Miss  Emory  was  absent,  nor 
had  she  noticed  how  feverishly  bright  his  eyes  became  in 
her  presence. 

From  the  first  he  knew  that  he  had  no  chance  with  his 
wealthy  rival,  and  endeavored  manfully  to  stifle  his  unre 
quited  and  hopeless  passion,  and  finally  succeeded  in  doing 
so,  but  at  the  cost  of  considerable  misery,  of  the  cause  of 
which  not  even  his  most  intimate  friends  had  the  slightest 
knowledge. 

He  was  preparing  himself  for  the  legal  profession  in  the 
office  of  Larry's  trustee,  Mr.  Littlejohn,  and  as  the  office 
was  directly  opposite  his  home,  between  Blackstone  and 
watching  his  sister's  visitor  across  the  way,  he  was  afflicted 
with  a  temporary  obliquity  of  vision,  which  his  fellow  stu 
dents  feared,  if  she  remained  much  longer,  would  become 
permanent.  Poor  Ralph  often  suppressed  an  inward  groan 
as  he  watched  the  two  lovers  start  out  on  their  numerous 
horseback  rides,  and  vainly  endeavored  to  bear  it  like  a 
philosopher. 

Louise  Emory  affected  a  refinement  that  was  not  natural 
to  her,  although  so  skilfully  was  it  assumed,  that  it  re 
quired  a  very  shrewd  judge  of  feminine  nature  to  detect 
the  false  ring  in  the  coin. 

Although  inclined  to  scheming  and  cunning,  she  had 
many  very  pleasant,  and  one  might  almost  say  lovable, 
qualities;  and  she  was  capable  of  kind  and  generous 
action. 


68  ARMOUR. 


CHAPTER  IX. 
WHAT'S  BRED  IN  THE  BONE. 

WHEN  the  great  Napoleon  issued  his  famous  order, 
blockading  the  continental  ports  to  English  vessels,  dur 
ing  the  terrible  struggle  which  was  shaking  all  Europe  to 
its  foundations,  and  while  in  the  height  of  his  wonderful 
career  of  conquest  and  plunder,  the  business  of  smuggling 
became  very  profitable  in  Great  Britain,  and  many  small 
traders,  not  averse  to  questionable  and  risky  transactions, 
engaged  in  it,  and  in  a  short  time  made  quite  snug  little 
fortunes  by  furnishing  ammunition  and  supplies  to  the 
enemy  to  be  used  against  their  own  countrymen. 

Amongst  this  class  was  James  Conyngham,  the  grand 
father  of  Malcolm,  a  shrewd,  canny,  calculating,  but  un 
scrupulous  and  mercenary  Scotchman,  whose  dubious  ways 
and  unsavory  reputation  had  made  him  an  object  of  dis 
trust  and  dislike  amongst  his  fellow  townsmen,  while  his 
greed  and  tyrannical  disposition  had  caused  him  to  be 
hated  and  despised,  amongst  the  rough,  unprincipled  char 
acters  he  had  associated  with  him  in  his  doubtful  busi 
ness. 

This  feeling  of  late  had  become  so  intense  against  him 
that  his  stay  in  Scotland  was  no  longer  comfortable  or  safe. 
Having  acquired  sufficient  funds  to  take  him  to  America 
and  set  him  up  in  a  small  business,  and  being  ambitious, 
he  embarked  for  the  land  overflowing  with  milk  and  honey, 
where  he  felt  confident,  that  with  such  talents  as  he  pos- 


WHAT'S  BRED  IN  THE  BONE.  69 

sessed,  he  would  certainly  find  a  rich  field  for  amassing 
wealth,  and  perhaps  become  a  power  in  the  land. 

But  he  soon  found  that  the  qualifications  necessary 
for  the  making  of  a  successful  smuggler  in  the  old  world 
were  not  calculated  to  win  him  either  the  respect  or  the 
patronage  of  the  people  he  had  settled  amongst  in  the 
new.  His  fondness  for  little  deceptions,  and  duplicity, 
his  small  cunning,  his  inability  to  originate  anything 
within  himself,  and  adaptability  for  availing  himself  of  the 
ideas  of  others,  while  palming  them  off  on  the  public  as 
his  own  ;  his  furtive  and  underhanded  ways,  and  utter  dis 
taste  for  bold,  open,  and  manly  courses;  his  trading  in 
old  horses,  saddles,  bridles,  and  wagons  ;  his  desire  and 
passion  for  dealing  in  pinchbeck  jewelry,  and  in  fact  for 
all  business,  which  afforded  opportunities  for  the  petty 
cunning  of  an  unprincipled  yet  timid  nature,  —  provoked 
many  doubts  and  unfavorable  comments,  as  to  his  real 
nationality,  and  caused  him,  ultimately,  to  be  despised. 

In  those  days,  a  man  whose  honor  and  integrity  were 
unquestioned,  stood  higher,  and  was  more  respected  by 
the  public,  than  did  that  man  who  successfully  accumulated 
great  wealth  by  the  sacrifice  of  both.  James  had  lived  too 
soon,  and  it  remained  for  his  descendants,  born  in  times 
more  favorable  to  the  perfect  development  of  the  peculiar 
talents  of  the  Conyngham  family,  to  attain  the  distinction 
and  wealth  their  ancestor  had  so  fondly  dreamed  of.  After 
a  few  years  of  unsuccessful  struggles  with  adverse  for 
tune,  he  died,  leaving  a  large  family  in  straitened  circum. 
tances. 

The  sons  to  a  man  inherited  all  their  father's  mercenary 
instincts  and  his  lack  of  moral  principle.  They  were 
determined  to  make  money,  and  make  it  they  did  ;  some 
by  the  hard,  grinding  process  of  usury,  and  others  by 


70  ARMOUR. 

questionable  business  transactions,  and  sharp  practices 
which,  while  savoring  of  rascality,  were  far  enough  within 
the  letter  of  the  law  to  save  them  from  the  exposure  and 
punishment  they  so  well  merited. 

With  increasing  prosperity  they  discontinued  in  a  great 
measure  the  practice  of  the  petty  tricks  and  chicane  which 
had,  in  their  earlier  days,  made  the  name  of  Conyngham  a 
by-word  and  reproach  amongst  their  neighbors  ;  and  they 
now  prosecuted  their  schemes  of  selfish  aggrandisement 
on  a  grand  scale. 

One  of  these  brothers,  Jacob,  having  made  some  money, 
laid  the  foundations  of  a  large  fortune  by  loaning  money, 
at  terribly  usurious  rates,  to  distressed  lumbermen,  who,  in 
the  spring,  floated  from  the  upper  part  of  the  state  large 
rafts  of  lumber  to  Armour.  Not  finding  ready  purchasers, 
and  being  at  expense  and  anxious  to  return  home,  these 
men  submitted  to  almost  any  shaving  or  sacrifice  ;  and  in 
Jacob  they  always  found  an  uncle  willing  to  accomodate 
them, —  "  a  friend  indeed." 

His  next  operation  was  securing  the  appointment  as  In 
dian  agent  under  the  government,  and  exchanging  the  gold, 
furnished  by  the  government  for  the  payment  of  annuities 
to  some  Indian  tribes  in  the  far  West,  for  his  own  private 
bank's  promise  to  pay  on  paper.  With  these  notes  he 
coolly  went  amongst  these  innocent  and  guileless  children 
of  the  forest,  and  settled  with  them  on  a  paper  basis,  well 
knowing  the  one-half  of  the  amount  would  never  reach  the 
bank  to  be  redeemed;  nor  caring  for  the  fact  that  the 
Indians  would  get  about  two  or  three  dollars  for  every  five 
paid  them,  on  account  of  the  heavy  discount  on  paper  so 
far  from  home. 

Having  political  aspirations  he  connected  himself  with 
a  partisan  newspaper,  and  soon  found  in  the  mire  of  local 


WHATS  BRED  IN  THE  BONE.  71 

politics,  and  in  the  sinuous  and  tortuous  windings  of  our 
general  American  political  life,  a  congenial  and  splendid 
field  for  the  exercise  and  perfect  development  of  the  Con- 
yngham  talent,  and  soon  achieved  success  and  fame. 

Early  in  his  career  he  had  married  a  thrifty  and  indus 
trious  young  woman,  one  who  possessed  a  more  than  or 
dinary  share  of  good,  common  sense,  and  who,  by  her 
economical  management,  had  greatly  helped  Jacob  in 
amassing  a  large  fortune. 

After  years  of  scheming  and  sordid  self-seeking,  and  by 
resorting  to  the  most  unscrupulous  practices,  Jacob  had 
succeeded  in  worming  and  bribing  himself  into  the  high 
est  place  but  one  under  the  government,  and  even  aspired 
to  the  presidency  itself,  the  grand  objective  point  of  his 
ambitious  career,  and  for  which  he  had  schemed  and  in 
trigued  for  a  quarter  of  a  century.  Several  times  when  the 
prize  seemed  almost  within  his  grasp,  his  too-well-known 
and  unparalleled  career  of  venality  and  corruption  roused 
the  people  to  a  sense  of  their  dishonor  and  a  vigorous 
protest  against  such  a  public  disgrace,  and  settled  his 
aspirations  for  the  time  being. 

Here,  high  in  the  councils  of  a  great  nation,  he  sat  an 
everlasting  monument  of  reproach  to  a  people  who  had 
quietly  and  tamely  acquiesced  in  their  own  shame.  And 
they  allowed  this  man  to  ride  rough-shod  over  all  decent 
public  opinion,  and  to  insolently  place  himself  in  the  high 
est  tribunal  but  one  in  the  land,  by  practices  which,  in  any 
other  country,  would  have  consigned  him  to  prison  as  a 
common  malefactor,  instead  of  rewarding  him  with  its  high 
est  honors,  and  permitting  him  to  occupy  a  position  which 
had  hitherto  been  only  the  reward  of  brilliant  talents,  or 
moral  and  intellectual  superiority. 


72  ARMOUR. 


CHAPTER    X. 

OUR   UNCLES. 

ONE  short  month  had  made  great  changes  in  the  gay 
party  which  had  so  enlivened  the  sleepy  old  town  of  Ar 
mour  during  the  fall  months, —  months  which  had  proven 
so  pleasurable  to  the  young  people,  who,  in  after  life,  looked 
back  upon  this  period  of  their  lives  as  an  oasis  in  the 
desert,  and  dwelt  upon  its  scenes  and  incidents  with  fond 
ness  and  regret. 

Larry  Hamilton,  to  the  surprise  of  every  one  in  the 
town,  the  great  grief  of  his  mother,  and  regrets  of  his 
friends,  suddenly  left  for  Washington  for  the  purpose  of 
enlisting  as  a  private  in  a  cavalry  regiment,  then  lying  in 
winter  quarters  near  that  city. 

Fanny  Adair  had  returned  with  her  friend,  Miss  Emory, 
to  New  York  ;  and  Emily  Charlton  accepted  an  invitation 
from  General  Conyngham  and  his  family,  to  spend  the  win 
ter  with  them  in  Washington. 

The  general  had  years  ago  removed  from  Armour  to 
the  State  capital,  as  his  increasing  political  prominence  re 
quired  his  presence  there  most  of  the  time  ;  and  in  the 
winter,  when  Congress  met,  he  generally  closed  his  house, 
and  spent  his  winters  at  the  National  capital,  where  his 
time  was  taken  up  with  political  wire-pulling,  smuggling 
bills  through  the  different  committees,  and  assisting  cor 
porations  in  their  nefarious  schemes  for  robbing  and 


OUR  UNCLES.  73 

enslaving  the  people,  and  perpetuating  his  own  political, 
power. 

His  family  mingled  in  the  gay  metropolitan  society, 
hob-nobbed  with  diplomats,  titled  noblemen,  and  railroad 
kings,  and  looked  down  with  scorn  on  those  who  could 
not  command  a  million,  or  who  did  not  occupy  the  highest 
offices  in  civil,  army,  or  navy  life.  Jacob  Conyngham's 
long  career  as  senator  gave  to  Mrs.  Conyngham  and  her 
daughters  such  social  advantages  as  only  great  wealth 
and  political  power  (no  matter  how  corruptly  acquired) 
give  in  a  society  so  peculiar  and  variegated  as  is  society  in 
Washington. 

Malcolm  had  always  remained  in  Armour,  where  his 
presence  was  now  essential  to  the  successful  management 
of  their  growing  and  extensive  banking  business,  every 
detail  of  which  he  had  completely  mastered.  Under  his 
shrewd  and  pitiless  management  the  business  had  almost 
trebled.  His  father  was  completely  absorbed  in  political 
affairs,  and  was  only  too  glad  to  be  relieved  of  the  addi 
tional  cares  and  responsibilities  which  their  extensive 
business  required. 

Thus  early,  and  with  comparatively  little  effort  on  his 
own  part,  did  this  fortunate  young  man  succeed  to  the 
control  of  a  large  and  prosperous  business,  and  to  his 
father's  immense  exchequer.  With  such  advantages  it  re 
quired  no  original  or  very  great  talent  on  his  part  to  ac 
quire  wealth  enough  to  have  satisfied,  if  such  a  thing  were 
possible,  the  dreams  of  avarice  itself. 

With  an  old  and  skilful  engineer  on  the  box  beside  one, 
it  is  comparatively  easy  to  learn  to  run  an  engine  after  the 
roadway  is  built,  and  the  engine  furnished.  There  are  per 
sons  who  often,  by  a  lucky  combination  of  circumstances, 
succeed  to  leading  positions  without  the  preliminary  drudg- 


74  ARMOUR. 

ing,  and  brain  work  so  necessary  to  lay  the  foundation 
of  fortunes. 

Truly  some  are  born  to  fortunes,  others  achieve  for 
tunes  and  others  have  fortunes  thrust  upon  them  ;  and 
Malcolm  Conyngham  could  certainly  say  he  was  both  born 
to  fortune  and  had  fortune  thrust  upon  him. 

The  dizzy  height  to  which  he  now  had  succtfr.Ied  wiih  so 
little  effort  or  exertion  on  his  own  part,  would  have  been  the 
ruination  of  most  young  men,  especially,  if  they  had  been 
socially  inclined,  and  of  generous  proclivities.  But  Con- 
yngham's  phenomenally  cold  and  selfish '  nature,  and  his 
inordinate  fondness  for  money,  and  lately  of  power,  two 
traits  characteristic  of  the  Conyngham  family,  and  which 
he  had  come  by  naturally  from  his  ancestors,  rendered  him 
utterly  impervious  to  the  temptations  that  most,  young  men 
would  have  succumbed  to. 

He  was  now  completely  absorbed  in,  and  cared  for  noth 
ing  but  money-getting.  Money  was  his  god,  and  in  pursuit 
of  it  he  never  hesitated  to  trample  under  foot  every  noble 
and  generous  instinct ;  and  in  the  gratification  of  his  lust 
for  gold,  he  was  utterly  regardless  of  the  rights  and  inter 
ests  of  others,  and  respected  them  only  so  far  as  it  en 
hanced  and  promoted  his  own.  Outwardly,  he  was  irre 
proachable  in  his  habits,  and  a  regular  attendant  of 
church  services.  And  while  a  gentleman  in  appearance 
and  in  manners,  when  he  desired  to  appear  so,  at  heart, 
he  lacked  the  very  first  instinct  of  one,  and  would  break  a 
promise,  in  an  instant,  if  it  was  necessary  to  do  so  in 
order  to  accomplish  his  purposes.  As  for  generosity  or 
chivalry,  the  words  were  not  only  not  in  his  vocabulary, 
but  the  man  himself  had  not  the  slightest  comprehension 
of  the  meaning  of  the  words. 

He  possessed  all  the  qualities  which,  in  a  more  humble 


OUR  UNCLES.  75 

sphere  of  life  would  have  made  him  a  heartless  and  suc 
cessful  pawnbroker  —  a  business  for  which  nature  had 
evidently  intended  him  ;  but,  fortunately  for  the  possessor 
of  such  talents,  he  found  the  kind  of  banking  business  he 
was  now  engaged  in  a  congenial  pursuit. 

In  fact,  the  same  talents  which,  as  a  rule,  are  required 
to  make  a  successful  shaver  of  notes  under  the  pseudo  pa 
tronymic  of  banker,  are  the  same  as  are  required  to  make 
a  successful  pawnbroker  —  viz. :  heartlessness  and  greed. 
Both  take  the  treble  amount  of  collateral  necessary  for  their 
security,  and  charge  exorbitant  and  ruinous  rates  of  inter- 
est,  without  a  particle  of  risk  to  themselves.  Like  the  cow^ 
ardly  jackal  and  the  hyena,  do  these  human  prototypes 
follow  the  wounded  prey ;  until,  in  his  last  extremity,  they 
finish  his  misfortunes. 

The  only  difference  in  the  respective  callings  is  in  the 
kind  of  collateral  hypothecated.  While  the  one  preys 
upon,  and  takes  advantage  of,  the  misfortunes  and  neces 
sities  of  the  poor  and  needy  classes,  the  other  takes  advan 
tage  of  the  crippled  and  unfortunate  business  men  in  the 
community.  Both  finish  what  misfortune  began. 

Why  should  not  six  gilt  balls,  with  equal  appropriate 
ness,  represent  the  banking  interests  as  conducted  by 
some  men,  as  well  as  three  gilt  ones  that  of  pawnbroking  ? 
The  only  difference  between  a  mouse-trap  and  a  rat-trap 
is  that  the  latter  is  made  to  catch  larger  game. 

Men  following  both  of  these  occupations  for  a  long  time, 
acquire  a  heartlessness  and  indifference  to  the  suffering 
and  troubles  of  their  fellow-men  to  an  almost  incred 
ible  degree,  and  their  business  in  time  gives  to  their 
countenance  a  cold  immobile  look,  and  their  eyes  attain 
a  ferret-like  sharpness  highly  suggestive. 

It  is  as  impossible  to  distinguish  a  successful  pawnbroker 


76  ARMOUR. 

from  a  flourishing  banker  of  the  class  referred  to,  as  far 
as  general  physiognomy  goes,  as  it  would  be  to  detect  the 
difference  between  a  political  bummer  and  some  congress 
men,  provided  both  were  equally  well  dressed  and  not  en 
gaged  in  their  respective  callings. 

If  such  a  proposition  be  entertained  to  exclude  butchers 
from  serving  on  juries,  in  cases  where  their  vocations  are 
supposed  to  have  obliterated  all  sympathy  for  physical  suf 
fering,  should  not,  with  equal  appropriateness,  pawnbrokers 
and  a  certain  kind  of  bankers  be  excluded  from  the  jury 
in  civil  cases  where  pecuniary  suffering  is  involved  ? 

There  are  of  course  some  honorable  bankers.  There 
are  also  some  honorable  pawnbrokers.  They  should  all 
confine  themselves  to  their  legitimate  business,  and  not 
attempt  to  assume  the  role  of  senators  and  city  council- 
men,  where  an  entirely  different  order  of  talent  is  required. 
The  people  want  their  friends  not  their  enemies  to  make 
their  laws  and  execute  them. 


WEIGHED  AND  POUND  WANTING.      77 


CHAPTER  XI. 

WEIGHED  AND   FOUND  WANTING, 

IT  was  a  cold,  crisp  morning  in  January,  1862.  Most 
of  the  members  had  returned  to  their  congressional  duties 
after  their  holiday  vacations  at  home,  and  Washington  so 
ciety,  refreshed  and  reinvigorated,  entered  into  the  winter 
gayeties  with  renewed  zest  and  pleasure. 

Eleanor  and  Mary  Conyngham  were  comfortably  en 
sconced,  with  their  friend  and  guest  Emily  Charlton,  in  an 
elegant  little  boudoir,  by  courtesy  called,  a  parlor,  at  Wil- 
lard's.  The  trees  and  branches  along  the  avenues  were 
white  with  frost,  and  merry  bells  tinkled  on  the  frosty  air, 
the  sounds  being  softened  by  the  heavily-curtained  win 
dows.  The  bright  glowing  grate  fire  and  the  luxuriously 
furnished  room,  made  a  cheerful  contrast  to  the  wintry 
scene  without.  As  Eleanor  Conyngham  sat  by  the  win* 
dow,  watching  the  moving  throngs  on  the  sidewalk,  and 
the  elegant  equipages  dashing  down  Pennsylvania  avenue, 
she  suddenly  cried  out,  u  If  there  is  not  Larry  Hamilton, 
I  do  believe  1"  All  were  on  their  feet  in  an  instant,  and 
arrived  at  the  window  only  in  time  to  catch  a  glimpse  of 
young  Hamilton's  graceful  figure  as  he  disappeared  in  the 
crowd. 

"  I  think  it  so  strange  that  a  gentleman  like  Larry 
Hamilton  should  enlist  as  a  common  soldier,  and  for  my 
part  I  am  very  free  to  say,  that  I  hope  he  will  not  mortify 
us  by  calling  in  his  uniform,  or  have  the  impertinence  ta 


78  ARMOUR. 

invite  us  to  the  opera  or  any  reception,"  said  Mary 
Conyngham,  in  her  most  acidulous  tones  and  with  a  haughty 
toss  of  her  elaborately  coiffured  head. 

"  You  need  give  yourself  no  uneasiness  on  that  score," 
said  her  sister  Eleanor,  in  the  precise,  crisp  and  snappish 
manner  habitual  to  her,  and  which  she  fondly  flattered 
herself  as  being  a  charming  hauteur.  "  He  is  a  lieutenant 
now,  so  Emily  said  yesterday  —  did  you  not  ?" 

"  Yes,  I  did,"  replied  Emily.  "  As  we  came  from  the  cap- 
itol  the  other  morning  Colonel  Irving  informed  me  he  had 
been  elected  to  that  position  shortly  after  he  had  enlisted. 
Larry  is  in  his  regiment,  and  he  was  very  much  pleased 
with  him,  and  said  all  the  officers  liked  him,  he  was  so 
frank,  gentlemanly,  and  jovial.  I  do  wish  he  would  call. 
I  am  fairly  hungry  to  see  some  home  friends,  and  am  so 
tired  x>f  strangers^even  if  they  are  rich  and  fashionable  and 
great.  I  would  shake  hands,  with  joy  too,  with  old  black 
Uncle  Jude,  right  in  the  capitol,  before  all  the  generals, 
colonels,  and  august  representatives  there  assembled." 

"  Emily,"  said  Mary  Conyngham  severely,  "  you  must 
remember  it  is  not  exactly  in  keeping  with  the  eternal 
fitness  of  things,  for  people  in  our  position  to  associate 
with  mere  lieutenants  of  volunteers.  If  Larry  Hamilton 
had  graduated  at  West  Point,  it  would  have  been  very 
different.  You  know  they  make  such  accomplished  gen 
tlemen  of  them  there." 

"  Why  I  am  sure,"  warmly  rejoined  Emily,  while  blush 
ing  crimson,  "  no  more  polished  or  refined  gentleman  can 
be  found  in  Washington  to-day  than  Lawrence  Hamilton, 
even  if  he  is  only  a  lieutenant  of  volunteers." 

"  Oh  I  know  all  that,"  apologetically  replied  Mary,  on 
witnessing  her  guest's  warm  defense  of  her  absent  friend  ; 
"but  here  in  Washington,  owing  to  father's  prominent 


WEIGHED  AND  FOUND   WANTING.        79 

position,  and  out  of  consideration  for  the  prejudices  of  the 
people  we  associate  with,  we  must  in  a  measure  make 
some  difference  in  our  treatment  of  people  which  would  be 
unnecessary  in  other  places.  But  I  think  Larry  Hamilton 
has  too  much  good  sense  and  knowledge  of  the  world,  and 
especially  of  the  fashionable  world,  to  presume,  from  the 
fact  that  we  were  accidentally  born  in  the  same  place,  to 
attempt  to  resume  here  the  intimate  relations  which  were 
but  natural  in  Armour." 

"  Yes,"  chimed  in  Eleanor,  in  her  most  mellifluous  tones, 
"  just  imagine,  Emily,  if  we  were  at  Secretary  G — 's  recep 
tion,  or  at  one  of  Senator  L — 's  balls,  how  mortified  you 
would  be  while  conversing  with  the  dashing  General  C — 
of  the  regulars,  to  have  a  lieutenant  of  volunteers  ap 
proach  you  with  the  easy  familiarity  of  an  old  friend,  and 
request  you  to  dance  with  him.  I  can  imagine  the  Gener 
al's  elevated  eyebrows  and  haughty  stare  while  you  proceed 
to  introduce  your  dear  friend,  Lieutenant  Hamilton  of  the 
First  N.  Cavalry  !  "  The  very  idea  seemed  appalling  to 
Eleanor,  and  her  smelling  bottle  was  applied  vigorously. 

"  If  he  calls,  Emily,  I  hope  you  will  excuse  yourself. 
In  society  here,  if  a  man  is  not  either  a  cabinet  officer, 
senator,  millionaire,  or  a  graduate  of  either  Annapolis  or 
West  Point,  he  has  no  right  to  expect  any  social  recogni 
tion,  and  I  think  it  perfectly  proper  that  the  lines  should 
be  strictly  drawn  in  a  National  Capital. 

"Official  distinctions  must  be  and  are  absolutely  neces 
sary  to  preserve  the  dignity  of  the  government,  so  father 
says." 

"  No  matter,  I  suppose,"  replied  Emily,  "  if  these  high 
officials  are  the  greatest  rascals,  boors,  and  ignoramuses,  in 
the  world,  if  they  hold  high  offices  or  have  plenty  of 
money  it  entitles  them  to  be  treated  as  gentlemen  ?  " 


go  ARMOUR. 

The  conversation  was  here  interrupted  by  a  knock  at 
the  door,  and  a  servant  appeared  with  a  card  on  a  salver. 
As  he  handed  it  to  Mary  Conyngham,  the  latter  in  the 
most  nonchalant  manner  possible,  unblushingly  requested 
him  to  inform  the  gentleman  the  ladies  were  not  in. 

//  was  Larry  Hamilton's  card. 

Kmily,  ashamed  and  indignant,  quietly  smothered  her 
feelings  and  said  nothing,  but  bitterly  reproached  herself 
afterwards  for  doing  so,  and  despised  her  own  weakness 
in  thus  yielding  a  seeming  compliance  to  the  contemptible 
prejudices  and  parvenu  pride  of  the  Conyngham  girls. 
But  the  fatal  defect  in  Emily's  character  was  her  natural 
inclination  to  go  with  power.  She  had  no  independence 
whatever,  and  was  afraid  to  follow  out  the  dictates  of  a 
naturally  kindly  and  affectionate  disposition.  Hamilton 
had  instinctively  suspected  this  weakness,  which  had  in  a 
measure  always  caused  him  to  distrust  her  somewhat,  yet 
she  never  had  been  placed  in  a  position  that  would  confirm 
him  in  this  opinion.  His  partiality  for  her  had  never 
blinded  him  to  this  fatal  defect  in  her  character. 

Judge  Charlton,  Emily's  father,  was  a  gentleman  of  con 
siderable  wealth  and  political  influence,  but  he  had  acquired 
both  in  a  more  honorable  and  in  a  very  different  manner  from 
that  by  which  General  Conyngham  had  succeeded  to  his. 

It  had  always  been  the  hope  of  General  Conyngham  and 
his  family,  that  Malcolm  and  Emily  would  be  the  means  of 
uniting  the  fortunes  and  the  political  power  of  the  two 
families.  With  this  purpose  in  view,  they  had  schemed 
and  intrigued  unceasingly.  But  her  well-known  preference 
for  the  society  of  young  Hamilton  had  hitherto  proven  an 
insuperable  bar  to  the  family  ambition  ;  and  Miss  Emory's 
appearance  on  the  scene  seemed  to  finally  settle  the 
matter. 


WEIGHED  AND  FOUND   WANTING.      8 1 

The  Charl ton's  were  a  very  refined  and  cultured  family, 
and  for  generations  had  been,  with  the  Hamilton's,  the 
leading  people  of  Armour.  The  Conyngham's  were  a 
comparatively  new  growth,  and  unmistakably  belonged  to 
the  aristocracy  of  the  parvenu.  As  much  as  the  latter 
upheld  and  prided  themselves  on  the  distinctions  which 
wealth  and  official  position  conferred  on  them,  and  as  much 
as  they  pretended  to  sneer  at  people  of  the  high-bred 
old  families,  who  could  claim  to  have  been  descended  from 
the  three  generations  which  Chesterfield  said  were  neces 
sary  to  make  a  gentleman,  they  secretly  envied  and  hated 
them ;  and  on  meeting  their  social  superiors  in  this  respect, 
they  generally  —  under  a  patronizing  and  indifferent  man 
ner —  endeavored  vainly  to  conceal  the  rankling  sense  of 
inferiority  within. 

When  the  daughters  became  old  enough  to  understand 
how  wealthy  their  father  was,  they  had  insisted  on  a  lib 
eral  allowance ;  and  like  all  people  who  in  early  life  have 
been  unaccustomed  to  power  and  luxury,  they  now  rushed 
to  extremes,  and  their  insolent  and  impudent  pretensions 
knew  no  bounds.  While  fawning  on  and  flattering  those 
whom  they  thought  could  contribute  to  their  social  posi 
tion,  they  acted  to  the  rest  of  the  world  in  a  manner  which 
brought  down  upon  them  all  the  ridicule  and  contempt 
their  silly  and  ridiculous  conduct  deserved.  They  dressed 
in  the  extreme  of  fashion,  and,  notwithstanding  their 
dresses  were  elegant  and  exceedingly  rich  as  to  material, 
like  all  nouveaux  riches  they  loved  gay  colors  and  bizarre 
ornaments,  and  were  fond  of  diamonds. 

As  Hamilton  passed  through  the  hall,  he  met  Mrs. 
Conyngham.  The  old  lady,  unlike  the  daughters,  was 
delighted  to  see  him  ;  and  after  numerous  inquiries  as  to 
his  health  and  future  prospects,,  insisted,  in  her  plain, 


82  ARMOUR. 

frank  way,  on  his  dining  with  them.  Hers  was  a  heart 
unspoiled  by  success,  and  which  had,  in  the  hard  school  of 
early  struggle  and  privation,  learned  to  feel  for  and  sym 
pathise  with  others. 

Pleading  a  prior  engagement  Larry  declined,  but  ac 
cepted  an  invitation  to  accompany  the  girls  to  Secretary 
G — 's  reception  that  evening. 

A  few  minutes  after  9  o'clock,  Hamilton  sent  up  his 
card,  and  the  servant  at  once  returned  with  the  information 
that  the  young  ladies  had  ordered  their  carriage  early  in 
the  evening,  in  order  to  make  a  few  calls  before  the  recep 
tion,  and,  on  their  return  from  which,  had  waited  for  him 
until  nine,  but  not  appearing,  they  concluded  he  could  not 
come,  and  had  just  driven  away. 

They  were  in  their  rooms  when  this  message  was  sent 
down  by  Mary  Conyngham,  and  their  carriage  was  waiting 
for  them  outsiJe. 

Meeting  Colonel  Irving  in  the  corridor  of  the  hotel,  and 
learning  he  was  also  going  to  the  reception,  and  without 
company,  Hamilton  and  he  concluded  to  go  together. 

Entering  the  massive  doorway  of  Secretary  G — 's  fine 
residence,  they  found  the  parlors  hot,  stifling,  and  thronged. 

After  going  through  the  usual  formality  of  hand-shaking 
with  the  host  and  hostess,  Larry  discovered  his  lady 
friends  in  the  centre  of  the  room  gayly  conversing  with  a 
stolid  looking  senator,  and  several  fine  looking  generals. 
It  was  a  mixed  assembly,  gathered  from  all  parts  of  the 
country,  and  mostly  composed  of  the  flash  element  brought 
to  the  surface  by  the  great  war,  which  seemed  to  have  rev. 
olutionised  everything  not  only  in  political  but  in  social 
life,  and  had  completely  swept  away  the  old,  and  in  some 
respects,  better  order  of  things. 

Hamilton  quietly  approached   the  party,  who  had  not 


WEIGHED  AND  FOUND  WANTING.      83 

as  yet  perceived  him,  with  a  careless  and  pleasant  good 
evening  to  the  Misses  Conyngham,  while  shaking  hands 
with  Emily.  He  was  received  with  such  freezing  hauteur 
by  the  former,  and  in  so  pitifully  embarrassing  a  manner 
by  Emily,  that  he  was  stung  to  the  quick.  His  pride  was 
thoroughly  aroused  ;  and  while  outwardly  cold  and  self- 
possessed,  he  at  once  naturally  assumed  that  dignified  and 
quiet  gravity  with  which  the  gentleman  always  conceals  his 
feelings  when  wronged. 

After  such  a  reception  it  was  impossible  to  carry  on  a 
very  pleasant  conversation,  and  as  soon  as  his  pride  and 
politeness  would  allow  him  to  excuse  himself,  Hamilton 
rejoined  Colonel  Irving,  who  was  surrounded  by  a  bevy  of 
ladies,  engaged  in  an  animated  discussion  concerning  the 
doubtful  advantages  of  the  new  over  the  old  regime. 
Pleading  indisposition  to  his  friends,  and  bidding  them 
good-night,  he  was  about  leaving  the  room,  mortified  and 
humiliated,  when  Irving  introduced  him  to  a  very  elegant- 
looking  lady,  Mrs.  Renshaw.  "  Mrs.  Renshaw,"  added 
the  Colonel,  "  is  an  old  friend  of  your  mother  and  wishes 
to  speak  to  you  about  her." 

"  Your  striking  resemblance  to  your  mother  led  me  to 
inquire  of  the  Colonel  your  name ;  and  I  remembered  it  at 
once  as  the  name  of  the  gentlemen  she  had  married.  We 
have  never  met  since  we  were  at  school  together,  and  we 
little  dreamed  then  that  our  acquaintance  would  be  re 
newed  through  her  son." 

Larry  could  only  murmur  a  few  words  as  to  his  great 
pleasure  in  meeting  one  who  regarded  his  mother  so 
kindly ;  but,  fortunately,  Mrs.  Renshaw  was  full  of  fond 
reminiscences,  and  while  making  room  for  him  on  the  sofa 
beside  her,  she  asked,  "  How  does  it  come  your  mother  is 
willing  to  part  with  you?  Has  she.  other  sons  at  home  ?  " 


84  ARMOUR. 

"  Unfortunately,  no.  Indeed,  it  is  a  great  grief  to  her 
that  I  persisted  in  my  determination  to  enlist." 

"  What  were  your  reasons  for  joining  the  army,  Mr- 
Hamilton  ?  I  see  you  were  not  tempted  by  high  rank,  and 
not  many  of  our  young  men,  delicately  brought  up,  are 
willing  to  look  upon  the  private  station  as  the  post  of 
honor." 

"  To  discharge  the  duty  I  owe  my  country  was  one  rea 
son,  and  to  explain  my  other  reasons  would  be  trespassing 
upon  your  time  at  such  a  place  as  this." 

"  Very  well ;  you  must  then  come  to  see  me  at  Will. mi's, 
where  we  are  stopping  at  present  —  until  some  changes  we 
are  having  made  in  our  home  on  F  street  are  completed. 
I  am  always  in  until  noon,  and  shall  be  glad  to  hear  of  all 
that  has  transpired  since  last  I  saw  your  mother." 

As  others  were  claiming  Mrs.  Renshaw's  attention, 
Larry  bade  her  good  evening,  with  feelings  very  different 
from  those  which  had  possessed  him  when  about  leaving 
the  room  before,  although  the  bitterness  and  soreness  still 
remained. 

Mrs.  Renshaw  was  the  wife  of  one  of  our  New  England 
senators,  whose  hold  upon  the  respect  and  affections  of 
his  constituents  had  been  so  great  that  they  had  returned 
him  over  and  over  again,  until  his  term  was  really  a  life 
tenure. 

Mrs.  Renshaw  was  one  of  the  very  few  ladies  in  Wash 
ington  who,  amidst  the  flattery  and  adulations  which 
surrounded  her  as  the  wife  of  one  of  the  most  able,  intel 
lectual,  and  leading  members  of  the  Senate,  and  whose 
influence  with  the  Administration  was  all-paramount,  re 
tained  amidst  all  thi>  intriguing  and  sc  licinin^  life,  all 
the  graces  of  pure  and  refined  home  life ;  and  shone  as 


«• 


WEIGHED  AND  FOUND  WANTING.       85 

brilliantly  in  the  social  world  as  her  husband  did  in  the 
political  one. 

To  be  placed  on  the  footing  young  Hamilton  had  thus 
secured,  was  to  have  the  entree  of  the  best  society  in  the 
capital  ;  and  the  Misses  Conyngham  felt  somewhat  cha 
grined,  and  regretted  their  course  towards  him,  on  seeing 
the  marked  attention  bestowed  upon  him  by  one  of  the 
leaders  in  society,  and  one  with  whom,  in  spite  of  all  their 
efforts,  they  had  never,  as  yet,  succeeded  in  establishing 
themselves  on  more  than  the  most  formal  footing. 

As  Larry  passed  out  of  the  bright  hall  into  the  cold 
night  air,  and  wrapped  his  cloak  around  him,  the  solitude 
of  the  deserted  streets  seemed  grateful,  and  the  cold 
night  wind  felt  refreshing. 

That  Emily  could  have  treated  him  so  indifferently  !  He 
could  scarcely  realize  it,  as  he  sat  in  his  room  long  after 
midnight,  over  a  half-smoked  cigar,  busy  brooding  over 
the  evening.  He  knew  as  far  as  the  Conyngham  girls 
were  concerned,  thai  it  was  his  humble  rank  in  the  service 
which  had  caused  his  ungracious  reception,  and  he  fairly 
groaned  while  reproaching  himself  for  putting  it  in  the 
power  of  these  upstarts  to  snub  him. 

Fanny  Adair  would  never  have  acted  in  that  way.  Forty 
Misses  Conyngham,  with  all  Washington  at  their  backs, 
he  was  sure  would  not  have  influenced  her  a  hair's 
breadth.  She  would  have  been  as  true  as  the  needle  to 
the  pole.  No  matter  what  apologies  Emily  might  make  in 
the  future,  nothing  could  ever  restore  the  confidence  he 
had  once  reposed  in  her  affections  —  that  was  certain. 

Poor  Emily  loved  Larry  more  than  she  was  fully  aware 
of,  and  after  he  had  left  them  she  was  miserable,  and 
would  have  given  anything  to  have  undone  the  mischief. 


86  ARMOUR. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

REPUBLICS   ARE    UNGRATEFUL. 

HAMILTON  was  also  stopping  at  Willard's,  which,  at  that 
time,  was  the  most  fashionable  hostelery  in  the  city.  On 
entering  the  breakfast-room  the  next  morning,  he  saw  the 
Misses  Conyngham  and  Emily  smiling  graciously.  He 
bowed  to  them  in  the  most  dignified  and  formal  manner. 
After  ordering  his  breakfast,  and  while  carelessly  glancing 
over  the  morning  paper,  his  attention  was  attracted  to  the 
conversation  of  two  gentlemen  opposite,  one  of  whom  was 
a  noble-looking  man  with  grey  hair  and  a  countenance 
which  indicated  a  high  order  of  intellect,  and  bore  the  air 
of  one  accustomed  to  wield  power. 

An  almost  sleepless  night  had  left  Larry  nervous,  and, 
notwithstanding  he  endeavored  to  interest  himself  in  his 
papers,  the  deep  low  tones  of  the  two  strangers  opposite 
sounded  clear  as  a  bell  and  compelled  his  attention. 

"  Yes,"  remarked  the  first  speaker,  "  there  haVe  been 
several  Cabinet  meetings  to  discuss  the  matter,  but  the 
President  is  slow  to  suspect  evil  of  those  who  have  once 
gained  his  confidence.  But  these  rumors  have  of  late 
been  flying  so  thick  and  fast,  and  some  of  them  have  been 
traced  to  such  reliable  sources,  that  Mr.  Lincoln  could  no 
longer  ignore  them ;  and  hence  these  secret  Cabinet  meet 
ings,  which  have  been  the  cause  of  so  much  conjecture  and 
of  so  many  sensational  stories." 

"  What  do  you  think  will  be  the  result  of  them  ?  " 


REPUBLICS  ARE  UNGRATEFUL.         87 

"  I  cannot  say  now,  but  in  a  few  days  the  whole  busi 
ness  will  be  exposed,  and  some  persons  will  find  them 
selves  in  trouble." 

"  It  is  the  most  disgraceful  affair  that  has  ever  happened 
to  the  country,"  exclaimed  the  elder  of  the  two,  indig 
nantly.  "  That  any  man  occupying  the  high  position  of 
trust  and  honor  that  General  Conyngham  does,  could  so 
lower  himself  as  to  take  advantage  of  the  confidence  re 
posed  in  him  by  Mr.  Lincoln  (the  people  never  had  any 
faith  in  either  the  man's  honor  or  his  patriotism),  to  en 
rich  himself  and  his  family  at  the  expense  of  the  govern 
ment  and  the  brave  men  in  the  field  at  a  time  like  this, 
when  they  are  periling  their  lives  and  protecting  the  very 
home  of  this  unprincipled  and  sordid  wretch,  is  almost  be 
yond  belief.  The  effect  of  such  an  example  in  high  places 
will  be  ruinous  and  far-reaching,  and  will  encourage  thou 
sands  of  lesser  rogues  to  swindle  the  government.  His 
punishment  should  he  commensurate  with  the  amount  of 
mischief  he  has  done." 

"  Did  you  hear  any  particular  charge  against  him  ;  that 
is,  anything  more  than  mere  reports,"  asked  the  younger 
gentleman. 

"  Yes ;  he  has  surrounded  himself  with  a  coterie  of 
vulgar  men  that  a  cabinet  officer  should  be  ashamed  to 
associate  with  on  any  kind  of  terms,  but  whose  society 
he  prefers  to  that  of  men  like  Sumner,  Chase,  Seward, 
and  Wilson;  and  these  gentlemen  have  frequently  been 
compelled  to  wait  in  the  ante-room,  while  those  worthies 
were  busily  engaged  discussing  and  settling  the  details  of 
some  rascally  contract.  Arrangements  have  been  entered 
into  by  Conyngham  with  his  cronies  to  furnish  the  troops 
with  miserable  shoddy  clothing  at  ruinous  prices,  while 
broken-down  mules  were  sold  to  the  transportation  de- 


88  ARMOUR. 

partment,  and  worthless  old  horses  furnished  our  cavalry 
at  prices  which  would  have  given  every  man  in  that  branch 
of  the  service  a  full-blooded  Arabian.  When  the  L; 
and  rapacity  of  this  crowd  of  vultures  reached  the  point 
of  trifling  with  the  very  lives  of  the  troops,  by  tamper! n  ,r 
with  the  medical  stores,  it  was  the  hair  which  broke  the 
camel's  back,  and  will  likely  cost  him  his  official  head, 
and  probably  send  him  home  in  the  disgrace  he  so  well 
merits." 

"  Instead  of  costing  him  his  official  head,"  indignantly 
replied  the  other,  "  it  should  cost  him  his  natural  head. 
Old  King  Frederick  of  Prussia's  example  was  very  effec 
tual.  You  remember  during  the  close  of  the  seven  year's 
war,  when  this  class  of  men  were  ruining  the  country,  the 
old  King  hung  several  of  them,  and  that  settled  the  busi 
ness  at  once.  This  man  ought  to  be  made  an  example  of, 
and  neither  his  high  officjal  position,  his  wealth,  or  his 
political  influence,  should  be  permitted  to  save  him ;  but, 
on  the  contrary,  should  be  additional  reasons  for  punish 
ing  him  more  severely." 

"  Was  there  any  truth  in  the  report  that  the  last  battle 
was  lost  through  a  delay  in  reinforcements  arriving,  owing 
to  the  want  of  transportation  facilities,  and  the  haggling 
over  terms  by  the  President  of  the  short  route  to  the  capi 
tal,  —  a  road  which  Conyngham  has  so  cunningly  secured 
the  absolute  control  of,  and  which,  through  his  son,  he 
is  now  running  in  their  own  private  interests,  and  to  the 
great  detriment  and  disadvantage  of  the  government  ?" 

"  I  do  not  know  whether  there  is  any  truth  in  that  report 
or  not,  but  I  do  know  that  he  controls  that  road  abso 
lutely,  and  that  the  manner  in  which  he  ousted  its  presi 
dent,  and  secured  the  stock  necessary  to  control  it,  was 
one  of  the  most  shameful  and  disgracefully  dishonest 


REPUBLICS  ARE  UNGRATEFUL.          89 

transactions  that  has  ever  stained  any  public  man's  career. 
The  Conyngham's  have  the  government  by  the  throat  here, 
and  they  are  not  the  men  to  let  loose  unless  they  receive 
unusually  hard  knocks.  He  is  already  gorged  with  public 
plunder ;  but  his  insatiate  greed  knows  no  bounds." 

"  I  hope,"  replied  his  friend,  "  that  Mr.  Lincoln  will  have 
the  firmness  to  resist  the  pressure  that  may  be  brought  to 
bear  in  his  favor  by  his  paid  political  harpies." 

"  Have  no  fears  on  that  score.  When  Mr.  Lincoln  has 
conclusive  proofs  of  the  guilt  of  any  party,  no  matter  how 
high  their  position  or  what  influence  they  may  bring  to 
bear,  he  will  act  promptly  and  fearlessly." 

Overhearing — unavoidably — the  name  of  Conyngham 
several  times,  and  judging  from  the  fact  that  he  had  heard 
the  day  before  some  rumors  connecting  General  Conyng 
ham  with  some  questionable  transactions,  Hamilton  was 
more  than  confirmed  in  the  belief  that  some  impending 
disgrace  was  hanging  over  the  Conyngham  family,  and 
while  thinking  over  his  reception  the  evening  before  by 
the  Conyngham  girls,  he  could  not  repress  a  feeling  of 
satisfaction. 

As  he  walked  into  the  parlor  after  finishing  his  break 
fast,  Emily  advanced  and  greeted  him  in  her  old  affection 
ate  manner.  While  cool  and  dignified,  his  feelings  were 
more  of  pity  than  of  anger  for  the  miserable  weakness 
she  had  displayed.  He  was  very  badly  disappointed  in 
her,  —  and  to  be  disappointed  in  those  we  love  expresses 
more  pain  than  the  mere  words  indicate. 

After  a  pleasant  call  on  Mrs.  Renshaw,  in  whose  parlors 
he  met  some  very  pleasant  and  distinguished  people,  he 
returned  to  camp  in  a  much  better  frame  of  mind  than  he 
had  anticipated. 

The  next  day,  the  leading  oracle  of  the  party  announced, 


90  ARMOUR. 

in  large  head  lines,  that  General  Conyngham,  had  re 
signed  the  portfolio  of  war  to  act  as  minister  to  Berlin,  on 
account  of  delicate  health.  "  We  understand,"  the  article 
continued,  "  that  the  General's  health  has  been  sadly  im 
paired  by  too  close  application  to  the  arduous  duties  per 
taining  to  his  department,  and  to  which  he  has  given  his 
undivided  time  and  attention.  The  General  will  be  sadly 
missed  in  the  councils  of  the  nation,  where  his  large  ex 
perience  in  men  and  affairs,  his  wise  and  statesman-like 
views  on  momentous  and  intricate  questions  of  govern 
mental  policy,  and  his  pure  patriotism  will  make  a  void 
which  will  be  very  difficult  for  Mr.  Lincoln  to  fill  satisfac 
torily  to  himself  and  the  people. 

"  The  soldiers  in  the  field  will  lose  their  best  friend,  and 
the  country  will  deeply  regret  the  loss  of  his  distinguished 
service.  His  acceptance  of  the  Berlin  mission,  will  in 
some  degree  compensate  the  people  for  the  loss  of  his 
invaluable  services  in  the  department  he  has  just  re 
signed,  and  in  a  measure,  reconciles  us  to  the  change. 
That  so  able  a  man  should  represent  us  at  one  of  the 
most  haughty  and  aristocratic  courts  of  the  effete  mon 
archies  in  the  old  world,  is  a  matter  of  congratulation  to 
the  people.  He  will  prove  a  noble  representative  of  our 
great  and  free  institutions,  and  one  of  whom  every  Ameri 
can  citizen  may  well  be  proud.  Since  the  days  of  Benja 
min  Franklin,  John  Jay,  and  Thomas  Jefferson,  we  have 
had  no  representatives  to  foreign  courts  who  could  com 
pare  with  him  in  any  respect.  He  is  truly  a  chevalier 
'  sans  peur,  sans  reproche,'  in  the  literal  sense  of  the 
words." 

Mr.  Lincoln  would  have  disgraced  him  in  the  way 
Conyngham  deserved  to  be,  but  the  leaders  of  the  party 
and  the  politicians  declared  it  would  ruin  the  republican 


REPUBLICS  ARE  UNGRATEFUL.         91 

party ;  and  this  Judas  Iscariot,  instead  of  going  out  and 
hanging  himself,  went  to  Berlin  on  a  bed  of  roses,  amidst 
the  paid  plaudits  of  the  organs  of  the  party,  and  the  en 
thusiastic  and  tearful  farewells  of  all  the  rich  mule  con 
tractors,  and  political  harpies  and  leeches  in  the  party. 


92  ARMOUR. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

REAPING   THE   WHIRLWIND. 

MALCOLM  CONYNGHAM  visited  the  Emory's  quite  fre 
quently  during  the  winter.  As  the  affianced  husband  of 
her  daughter,  he  was  of  course  a  privileged  and  wel 
come  guest.  Not  only  did  Mrs.  Emory  and  Lou  enjoy 
his  visits,  but  so,  also,  did  Fannie  Adair.  For  once  in  his 
life-time,  Malcolm  opened  wide  his  purse  strings.  He 
justified  his  expenditures  on  the  same  principle  that  a 
gambler  stakes  a  small  sum  in  order  to  win  a  large  one. 

Of  course  Fannie  delighted  in  the  little  suppers  at  Del- 
monico's,  the  operas,  and  fully  appreciated  the  advantages 
of  a  distingul  looking  escort  to  balls  and  parties, —  know 
ing  and  fully  enjoying  the  fact,  of  which  she  was  fully 
aware,  that  Malcolm  not  only  begrudged  every  extra 
cent  spent,  but,  at  the  same  time,  looked  upon  her  as  a 
nuisance,  but  one  unavoidable  for  the  time  being,  and 
which  he  had  to  make  the  best  of. 

Mrs.  Emory  was  exceedingly  gracious,  and,  in  order  to 
impress  her  prospective  son-in-law,  was  more  lavish  than 
ever  in  her  expenditures.  She  gave  the  most  costly  and 
elaborate  entertainments  during  his  visits  to  the  city  ;  and 
had  Conyngham  been  less  shrewd,  this  display,  and  the 
class  of  people  he  met  with  at  Mrs.  Emory's,  would  have 
removed  all  doubts  concerning  their  great  wealth.  But 
naturally  wary  and  suspicious  in  an  important  affair  like 
this,  he  left  no  stone  unturned  to  ascertain  their  exact 


REAPING  THE   WHIRL  WIND.  93 

financial  status,  and  was  indefatigable  in  securing  inter 
views  with  those  persons  who  would  most  likely  be  properly 
informed  on  the  subject.  Having  secured  a  letter  of 
introduction  to  one  of  Mr.  Emory's  former  partners,  he 
had  in  some  measure  learned  from  that  gentleman  of 
the  shrinkage  in  Mr.  Emory's  fortune  through  his  South 
ern  investments ;  but  he  had  as  yet  no  idea  as  to  the  full 
extent  of  their  losses. 

Conyngham's  attentions  had  been  apparently  so  sincere, 
and  marked  of  late  by  so  much  tenderness,  that  Lou 
Emory,  foolish  girl !  flattered  herself  with  the  erroneous 
idea,  that  even  if  the  crash  in  their  affairs  should  overtake 
them  before  their  marriage,  he  would  still  remain  true  to 
his  vows,  and  to  her.  With  all  her  worldly  shrewdness, 
she  little  knew  or  understood  the  thoroughly  mercenary 
character  of  her  lover. 

The  latter  loved  her  as  much  as  he  could  love  any  one, 
yet  he  would  not  have  hesitated  for  a  single  instant  to 
have  cast  her  ruthlessly  aside  if  certain  she  would  not 
advance  his  worldly  prospects. 

Arriving  in  the  city  rather  unexpectedly  one  morning, 
and  feeling  cramped  and  fatigued  after  his  night's  ride,  he 
concluded  to  walk  up  town  after  eating  his  breakfast,  in 
stead  of  taking  a  coupe,  as  was  his  custom  when  calling  on 
the  Emorys.  He  made  his  appearance  unexpectedly  and 
quite  early  for  a  caller.  The  servant  ushered  him  into 
the  parlor,  and  left  to  announce  his  arrival  to  the  ladies. 

The  doors  between  the  two  rooms  being  slightly  ajar,  he 
inadvertently  became  an  attentive  listener  to  a  conversa 
tion,  carried  on  in  low  tones,  between  Mrs.  Emory  and  a 
gentleman  he  judged,  from  the  several  remarks  overheard, 
to  be  the  lady's  attorney.  At  first  he  could  scarcely  dis- 
tingyish  more  than  a  few  sentences,  but  as  he  gradually 


94  ARMOUR. 

became  accustomed  to  their  voices,  by  listening  atten 
tively  and  moving  his  chair  closer  to  the  door,  soon 
heard  enough  to  convince  him  that  his  marriage  with 
Miss  Emory  would  be  neither  advantageous  or  desirable. 
He  resolved  at  once,  without  a  moment's  hesitation,  that 
all  matrimonial  speculations  with  him,  at  least  as  far  as 
Miss  Emory  was  concerned,  were  at  an  end  forever. . 

As  he  leaned  forward,  contemptibly  straining  every 
nerve  to  overhear  the  conversation,  he  heard  Mrs.  Emory 
remark,  "  His  father  is  reputed  to  be  worth  millions,  Mr. 
Evans." 

The  sad  and  subdued  tones  in  which  this  remark  was 
made,  sounded  very  unlike  the  usual  haughty  and  imperi 
ous  tones  of  the  proud  Mrs.  Emory. 

"  That  may  all  be  true,  and  his  son  may  be  engaged  to 
your  daughter ;  but  "  there  are  many  slips  'twixt  the  cup 
and  the  lip,"  if  you  will  pardon  me  for  this  old,  but  trite 
saying.  T  advise  your  daughter  to  hasten  the  affair  as  much 
as  possible,  as  your  creditors  are  growing  restless,  and  be 
coming  importunate  of  late.  Indeed,  I  cannot  possibly  see 
how  in  the  world  I  can  keep  things  moving  much  longer. 
You  are  fully  aware,  my  dear  Mrs.  Emory,  that  the  respon 
sibility  of  this  unhappy  state  of  affairs  rests  entirely  upon 
yourself ;  and  while  I  do  not  wish  to  reproach  you,  you 
know  how  often  I  expostulated  and  plead  with  you  and 
foretold  just  how  this  miserable  business  would  likely  end. 
If  you  had  taken  my  advice  and  removed  to  the  suburbs 
wth  the  means  you  possessed  several  years  ago,  you  could 
have  to-day  been  living  in  comfort  and  comparative  good 
style,  instead  of  being  placed  in  the  false  and  humiliating 
position  in  which  you  now  find  yourself." 

'*  My  daughter  informed  me  that  they  would  certainly 
be  married  in  May,  and  you  can  keep  our  affairs  intact 


REAPING  THE  WHIRLWIND.          95 

until  after  that  time,  can  you  not?  Our  finances  are 
surely  not  in  quite  so  desperate  a  condition  as  that  ? " 

"I  cannot  promise  you  with  any  certainty.  I  will,  how 
ever,  do  all  in  my  power  to  help  you  in  your,  troubles  ;  and 
I  assure  you,  Mrs.  Emory,  that  no  one  can  be  more  sin 
cerely  sorry  than  I  am  to  be  the  conveyer  to  you  of  such 
disagreeable  news.  That  I  have  conscientiously  endeav 
ored  to  perform  my  duties,  as  Mr.  Emory's  executor  and 
your  attorney,  and  that  it  has  been  through  no  fault  of 
mine  that  the  estate  has  become  so  badly  involved  I  think 
you  will  admit.  Hoping  you  may  succeed  in  extricating 
yourself  from  your  difficulties,  and  all  may  come  out  right 
yet,  I  bid  you  good-morning." 

The  door  closed,  and  as  the  gentleman  passed  through 
the  hall,  Conyngham  heard  the  rustle  of  Mrs.  Emory's 
dress  as,  with  a  deep  sigh,  she  wearily  ascended  the  stair 
case,  evidently  too  busily  pre-occupied  with  her  own 
perplexed  and  sad  thoughts  to  notice  him,  as  he  sat  in  a 
dark  corner  of  the  room. 

He  had  scarcely  time  to  assume  an  indifferent  air,  when 
Lou,  bright  and  radiant,  flashed  with  glad  surprise  into 
the  parlor,  and  greeted  him  with  unusual  warmth  for  one 
naturally  so  undemonstrative. 

Conyngham,  when  necessary,  could  be  an  accomplished 
dissembler.  As  Lou  sat  beside  her  lover  she  little  dreamed 
of  the  unfortunate  turn  her  affairs  had  just  taken. 

"  How  is  Fannie  getting  along  ?"  he  asked  in  an  uncon 
cerned  and  matter-of  fact  way,  while  placing  one  arm  over 
the  back  of  the  sofa,  and,  at  the  same  time,  half  turning 
towards  her,  and  taking  her  hand  in  his  own  in  the  most 
lover-like  and  natural  manner  possible. 

"  She  is  very  well,  but  a  little  tired,  as  we  were  up  quite 
late  last  night  at  a  party,  and  neither  feel  very  bright  this 


96  ARMOUR.    . 

morning.  But  the  moment  I  heard  you  were  here,  I 
forgot  all  about  being  tired.  What  a  difference  circum 
stances  make  in  one's  feelings,  —  don't  they  ?  "  she  asked 
looking  lovingly  into  his  face. 

"  Well,  yes  ;  circumstances  do  affect  one's  feelings  some 
times,  considerably,"  he  dryly  remarked,  while  endeavoring 
to  prevent  his  chagrin  and  disappointment  from  betraying 
itself  in  his  voice  and  manner  ;  but  for  once,  and  in  spite 
of  his  utmost  efforts,  there  was  that  in  his  tone  and  man 
ner  which,  with  the  swift  intuition  of  love,  alarmed  the 
young  girl ;  and  she  showed  it  very  plainly.  Conyngham 
endeavored,  by  increased  demonstration  and  the  most 
assiduous  attentions,  to  remove  any  suspicions  she  might 
have  entertained  as  to  his  sincerity,  and  naturally,  as 
might  have  been  expected,  only  increased  her  suspicions, 
and  made  her  miserable. 

"  Malcolm,  would  you  love  me  all  the  same  if  you  had 
found  me  a  poor,  friendless  girl  ? "  she  asked  almost  piti 
fully,  and  with  humid  eyes,  while  looking  wistfully  up  into 
his  cold  face,  and  waiting  his  reply  with  an  anguished  look 
that  ought  to  have  melted  a  heart  of  coarser  texture  than 
his  own. 

He  met  her  gaze  unflinchingly,  and  declared  repeatedly 
that  nothing  in  the  world  could  ever  change  his  feelings 
towards  her,  and  scouted  the  very  idea,  while  indignantly 
chicling  her  for  her  want  of  faith  in  him. 

Adept  as  he  was  in  the  art  of  deception,  he  could  not 
have  maintained  much  longer  this  insincere  course  ;  and 
fortunately  for  him,  Fannie  Adair  entered  very  oppor 
tunely,  and  relieved  him. 

Radiant  and  fresh  as  a  rose,  Conyngham  could  not  but 
compliment  her  on  her  fine  appearance.  But  compliments 
or  attentions  from  Malcolm  Conyngham  never  flattered 


REAPING  THE   WHIRLWIND.  97 

Fannie  Adair.  Her  true,  sincere,  and  straightforward 
nature  despised  duplicity,  and  always  recoiled  instinctively 
from  his  advances.  With  her  naturally  quick  perceptions 
she  had  always  suspected  Conyngham's  insincerity,  and 
had  estimated  his  sordid  and  selfish  nature  correctly ;  and 
while  always  treating  him  with  marked  politeness,  it  was 
with  a  reserved  and  cautious  manner  that  never  failed  to 
nettle  and  puzzle  him  as  to  her  real  feelings  towards  him. 
That  she  did  not  like  him  he  was  fully  aware ;  and  why 
she  did  not  he  could  never  understand,  as  he  could  not  re 
member  of  ever  having  given  her  any  reasons  to  justify 
her  feelings  towards  him. 

As  the  three  sat  in  Delmonico's  that  night,  sipping  their 
wine,  on  their  return  from  the  theatre  where  they  had  wit 
nessed  the  play  of  "  School  for  Scandal,"  Fannie  looked 
up,  in  the  most  innocent  manner,  and  remarked,  while 
watching  him  closely,  "  Mr.  Conyngham,  do  you  know  you 
remind  me  very  much  of  Joseph  Surface  ? " 

"You  are  inclined  to  be  rather  sarcastic  to-night," 
Conyngham  remarked,  hotly,  at  the  same  time  flushing 
scarlet,  and  in  his  confusion  and  irritation  overturning  his 
glass  and  spilling  his  wine. 

"Oh,  I  intended  to  be  complimentary,  I  assure  you," 
she  continued  in  a  slightly  taunting  manner.  "  I  admire 
his  shrewdness  and  talent  for  getting  along  in  the  world. 
If  Joseph  were  living  now  he  would  be  a  great  man  in 
this  country.  Just  now  such  men  are  in  great  demand. 
The  people  delight  in  honoring  them.  The  Charleses 
are  no  longer  admired,  with  their  chivalrous  and  worn- 
out  old-time  notions  of  gallantry  and  contempt  for  the 
thrifty  ways  of  our  generation.  If  Sheridan  were  liv 
ing  to-day,  and  wrote  that  play  as  typical  of  the  times,  he 
would  have  made  Joseph  and  not  Charles  the  hero, 


98  ARMOUR. 

and  would  have  given  him  a  high  cabinet  position,  and 
made  him  the  confidential  adviser  of  the  president. 

Like  most  ladies,  Fannie  had  not  made  it  a  duty  to  read 
the  morning  paper  regularly,  or  she  would  not  have  made 
the  remark. 

But  Conyngham,  always  suspicious,  gave  her  full  credit 
for  intending  it  in  the  wrong  way. 

The  fact  of  her  friend  having  made  her  that  afternoon 
aware  of  their  pecuniary  troubles,  and  Lou's  misery,  with 
Conyngham's  distrait  manner,  had  irritated  her;  and  while 
no  doubt  impressed,  in  her  own  mind,  as  to  the  similarity 
of  Conyngham's  and  Joseph's  characters,  she  had  made 
the  remark  in  such  a  light,  bantering  way,  that  she  never 
dreamed  for  a  moment  of  its  giving  him  offence.  There 
was  very  little  conversation  afterwards,  and  the  party 
were  not  very  lively  as  they  drove  home. 

Fannie  returned  to  Armour  in  the  early  part  of  Lent ; 
and  in  two  weeks  after  her  departure  the  crash  came,  not 
withstanding  Mr.  Evans'  almost  superhuman  efforts  to 
avert  it  until  after  Lou's  marriage  with  Conyngham.  Mrs. 
Emory  and  her  daughter  shortly  after  removed  to  a  small 
town  in  Connecticut,  within  a  few  hour's  ride  of  the  city, 
where  they  lived  very  comfortably  on  the  sum^Mrs.  Emory 
had  set  aside  for  such  a  possible  contingency,  and  which 
sum,  with  still  more  inconsistency,  she  had  never  drawn 
upon  during  all  her  troubles  and  embarrassment.  Com 
pared  with  their  former  luxurious  mode  of  living,  and 
lavish  and  extravagant  style,  they  lived  plainly. 

The  wedding  was  postponed  indefinitely,  and  Conyng 
ham,  much  to  the  surprise  of  Fannie  Adair  and  others  in 
Armour,  who  knew  so  well  his  calculating  and  mercenary 
nature,  still  continued  to  visit  the  Emory's  regularly ;  and 
he  did  not  break  the  engagement  for  some  time  after  their 
troubles, 


TWO  PATRIOTS.  99 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

TWO   PATRIOTS. 

THE  spring  had  flown  by  rapidly  and  it  was  now  mid 
summer.  Nothing  had  occurred  in  the  town  of  Armour 
to  disturb  the  even  tenor  of  its  ways  but  accounts  of  great 
battles,  and  the  excitement  now  grown  common  and  inci 
dent  to  the  organizing  and  recruiting  of  troops. 

Malcolm  Conyngham  had  been  his  father's  factotum  in 
all  the  large  contracts  which  had  disgraced  the  latter's 
reign  in  his  department,  and  the  head  and  front  of  the 
many  dubious  business  enterprises  which  had  finally  neces 
sitated  the  general's  summary  removal  and  trip  to  Europe  at 
government  expense.  In  addition  to  being  the  head  of 
his  father's  banking  interests,  he  was  now  also  engaged  in 
operating  and  controlling  the  short  route  to  the  capital  for 
the  sole  benefit  of  the  Conyngham  family,  and  to  the  great 
detriment  of  the  public  treasury.  Malcolm  was  not  slow 
to  avail  himself  of  these  great  advantages,  and  dictated 
his  own  terms  to  the  hard-pressed  government,  and  wrung 
money  out  of  it  at  every  turn.  "  Not  that  he  loved  his 
country  less,  but  he  loved  Malcolm  Conyngham  more." 
He  was  thus  thoroughly  but  safely  patriotic,  and  while 
young  Hamilton,  and  thousands  of  others  as  delicately  and 
tenderly  reared  as  himself,  and  to  whom  life  was  just  as 
sweet,  were  bravely  facing  the  foe  in  defence  of  his  and 
their  homes,  young  and  strong,  this  patriotic  young  man 
remained  securely  in  the  rear,  —  busy  like  the  Jew  sutlers 


100  ARMOUR. 

who  follow  armies  —  taking  advantage  of  the  necessities 
of  the  troops,  and  the  government,  and  the  people,  to  amass 
wealth  and  lay  the  foundations  of  his  immense  fortune. 

As  he  sits  in  his  bank  parlor,  busily  engaged  taking  an 
inventory  of  his  bonds  and  stocks,  this  lovely  summer  day, 
what  a  contrast  his  life  presents  to  that  of  his  friend  Ham 
ilton,  who  is  at  this  very  time  in  the  thickest  of  the  bloody 
fray  at  Cedar  Mountain  —  a  battle  which,  while  not  very 
decisive  for  either  side  in  its  results,  and  of  short  duration, 
was  scarcely  equaled  during  the  war  for  fierce  fighting  and 
terrible  fatality. 

For  some  time  Larry  had  been  endeavoring  to  procure  a 
short  leave  of  absence.  He  received  one,  but  not  in  the 
manner  he  expected.  His  promotfon  had  been  rapid. 

Stonewall  Jackson,  flushed  with  victory  from  the  Penin 
sular  campaign  and  with  Richmond  relieved  from  all 
danger,  now  swept  towards  the  Potomac,  and  hurling  his 
forces  across  the  Rapidan,  hastened  with  the  desperate 
energy  he  had  »ow  become  famous  for,  to  gain  the  strong 
position  of  Cedar  Mountain  before  General  Banks,  who 
was  likewise  straining  every  nerve  to  anticipate  him. 
Every  foot  of  ground  had  been  stubbornly  contested  on 
the  Federal  side  by  Bayard's  cavalry,  but  Jackson  suc 
ceeded  in  forcing  our  troops  back,  and  entrenching  him 
self  on  the  mountain  sides,  after  masking  his  batteries  in 
the  dense  foliage,  impatiently  awaited  the  coming  of  the 
foe. 

It  was  the  gth  of  August,  and  the  day  was  hot  and  swel 
tering,  the  heat  intense  and  fairly  stifling,  the  mountain 
sides  were  covered  with  lurid  green,  and  the  dense  foliage 
effectually  concealed  the  number  of  Jackson's  forces. 

Hamilton's  regiment  was  under  Bayard's  command, 
and  had  more  than  their  share  of  weary  marches  and 


TWO  PATRIOTS,  101 

constant  skirmishes  while  endeavoring  to  check  Jackson's 
advance.  When  the  zd  corps,  under  Banks,  made  its  ap 
pearance,  about  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  they  were  in 
the  midst  of  a  hot  skirmish  ;  both  horses  and  men  were 
almost  worn  out,  and  felt  glad  when  relieved  and  ordered 
to  support  a  battery,  on  the  brow  of  the  hill  near  by  that 
descended  into  a  corn-field,  and  beyond  which,  on  the  hill 
side,  at  the  edge  of  a  thick  woods,  were  placed  the  enemy's 
batteries,  and  where  numbers  of  their  sharpshooters  had 
concealed  themselves  amongst  the  branches  of  trees  for 
the  purpose  of  picking  off  our  officers. 

As  Larry  sat  on  his  horse,  from  this  elevation,  he  had  a 
fine  view  of  the  field  ;  now  and  then  some  general  officer 
would  ride  to  the  edge  of  the  hill,  and  placing  his  field- 
glass  to  his  eyes,  would  look  long  and  earnestly  towards 
the  frowning  woods.  Several  flashes,  accompanied  by 
puffs  of  white  smoke,  suddenly  burst  forth  from  the 
wooded  hillside,  and  in  a  few  seconds  a  solid  shot  and 
a  shell  or  two  flew  over  their  heads. 

The  federal  guns  replied,  and  the  artillery  on  both  sides 
began  to  fire  rapidly.  Whole  batteries  were  let  off,  and 
shell  after  shell  went  screaming  over  their  heads,  lower 
and  lower  every  minute,  as  they  gradually  succeeded  in 
getting  the  range.  As  Hamilton  sat  quietly  watching  the 
enemy,  he  suddenly  heard  an  explosion  that  seemed  to 
pierce  his  very  brain,  and  looking  around  quickly  a  sicken 
ing  sight,  and  one  he  never  forgot,  met  his  eye.  In  a 
cloud  of  smoke  and  dust  were  flying  legs  and.  arms,  while 
lying  around  in  a  heap  were  several  men  and  horses  liter 
ally  covered  with  blood.  A  cavalryman  threw  his  hands 
wildly  above  his  head,  and  horse  and  rider  fell  to  the 
ground  at  the  same  moment,  quivering  convulsively,  and 
then  lay  still  —  dead. 


102  ARMOUR. 

Here  a  man  would  suddenly  start,  drop  off  his  horse 
jvith  a  loud  groan,  while  another  would  spring  clear  out  of 
his  saddle  into  the  air,  uttering  a  piercing  shriek,  and 
fall  backward,  quivering,  lifeless,  with  his  eyes  staring 
vacantly,  his  teeth  set,  and  hands  aimlessly  clutching  the 
air. 

An  artillery  sergeant,  sighting  one  of  the  pieces  in  front 
of  him,  particularly  attracted  Hamilton's  attention  by  his 
magnificent  physique  and  brisk  soldiery  movements. 
He  could  but  admire  him  even  in  this  dangerous  moment. 
Stepping  back,  he  threw  up  his  hand  as  a  signal  to  fire. 
Convulsively  clasping  his  hand  to  his  breast,  he  stood  for  a 
moment,  staggered,  reeled,  and  fell  to  the  ground,  gasping 
for  breath,  while  the  hot  life-blood  poured  from  his  breast. 
Only  the  mad  excitement  of  battle  prevented  Larry  from 
growing  sick  at  the  sight. 

The  sturdy  cannoneers  stood  bravely  by  their  guns. 
Stripped  to  the  waist,  blackened  with  powder,  they  con 
tinued  their  work  of  carnage  and  death.  The  heavy  pro 
jectiles  from  the  rebel  batteries  filled  the  air,  and  flew 
bursting  overhead  and  around  them,  knocking  horses  and 
men  over  every  few  minutes. 

The  federal  artillery  gradually  slackened  their.fire  ;  and 
there  was  a  lull  in  the  storm  of  battle.  Such  a  silence  is 
always  ominous  at  such  a  time,  and  indicative  of  some 
important  movement  about  to  take  place.'  It  generally 
precedes  a  charge. 

Suddenly,  the  earth  shook,  the  hill  seemed  to  fairly  start 
from  its  very  foundation,  all  the  guns  on  both  sides  ap 
peared  to  have  been  discharged  at  the  same  moment. 
The  battle  had  now  commenced  in  earnest.  Hamilton 
and  his  men  cursed  the  blunder  that  had  exposed  them  to 
this  merciless  fire,"  without  their  being  apparently  a  par- 


TWO  PATRIOTS.  103 

ticle  of  use,  and  were  kept  busy  in  twisting  and  dodging 
the  shells  which  were  exploding  and  bursting  into  frag 
ments  every  second  —  now  in  front,  now  in  the  rear,  and 
frequently  it  seemed  right  in  their  faces.  They  followed 
each  other  so  rapidly,  that  it  was  one  constant,  prolonged, 
whizzing,  shrieking,  and  screaming. 

Solid  shot  came  madly  rushing  along,  now  flying  a  few 
feet  over  their  heads,  now  striking  the  hill-side  with  a 
dull  crash,  and  ricocheting  a  hundred  feet  into  the  air,  and 
falling  far  into  their  rear. 

Banks,  still  unsuspecting  the  number  opposed  to  him, 
had  determined  to  charge  the  enemy,  and  formed  his  men, 
in  full  view  of  the  foe.  "  Forward  1 "  rang  along  the  line, 
and,  with  a  ringing  cheer,  colors  flying,  and  bayonets  glit 
tering  in  the  bright  sunlight  in  beautiful  order,  the  serried 
columns  swept  onward  through  the  cornfield,  toward  the 
rebel  batteries  which  fairly  desolated  the  field.  The  roar 
of  these  guns  was  awful ;  and  at  every  discharge  the  earth 
seemed  to  tremble  under  the  shock.  The  scene  and  the 
moment  was  grand  and  terrible ;  and  the  angels  of  death 
were  busy  bearing  the  souls  of  men  into  eternity.  But 
the  brave  fellows  closed  up  the  horrid  gaps  in  their  ranks, 
and  pressed  forward  into  the  very  jaws  of  death.  The 
battle  was  raging  in  earnest.  The  maddening  rattle  of 
the  musketry  pierced  the  ear,  and  the  thunder  of  the 
artillery  caused  air  and  earth  to  vibrate ;  while  the  dense 
clouds  of  dust  and  smoke,  that  rose  from  the  battle-field, 
completely  enveloped  the  infantry,  and  concealed  them 
from  view. 

The  musketry  fire  increased,  while  the  artillery  on  both 
sides  slackened  their  fire  for  fear  of  killing  their  own  men. 

At  this  moment,  a  shout  arose  above  the  wild  din  of 
battle;  and  Hamilton,  turning  to  one  of  his  brother  offi- 


104  ARMOUR. 

cers,  triumphantly  exclaimed,  "  Our  fellows  are  giving  it 
to  them  now  !  " 

"  I  don't  like  that  cheer.  That  is  not  a  Northern  cheer." 
replied  his  friend,  as  a  solid  shot  went  crashing  through 
an  ambulance,  within  a  few  feet  of  them,  which  was  on  its 
way  from  the  battle-field  with  its  load  of  suffering  humanity. 

Our  men  now  began  to  fall  back.  They  had  unexpect 
edly  come  upon  dense  masses  of  the  enemy,  who  had  been 
lying  concealed  at  the  base  of  a  little  swell  in  the  field 
beyond,  and  rising  to  their  feet,  with  the  most  savage  yells, 
poured  into  the  faces  of  their  unsuspecting  foe  a  tempest 
of  fiie  which  no  mortal  could  withstand. 

Men  staggered  from  the  field  mangled  and  torn,  or 
slowly  limped  back,  while  others,  more  seriously  wounded, 
crawled  off  the  field  a  few  inches  at  a  time,  or  were  borne 
back  by  their  comrades  on  stretchers,  groaning  in  mortal 
agony. 

The  confederates  seeing  our  men  waver,  renewed  their 
fire  with  redoubled  fury.  Our  whole  line  gave  way. 
Some,  seized  with  panic,  hurried  off  the  field ;  but,  con 
sidering  the  dreadful  carnage,  the  men  fell  back  in  good 
order. 

The  battle  occupied  only  a  little  over  an  hour,  and  as 
the  exhausted  infantry  slowly  retired  back  of  the  artillery 
to  reform  their  thinned  out  ranks,  the  enemy  began  to 
show  themselves  at  the  edge  of  the  woods,  evidently  in 
tent  on  charging  and  capturing  the  battery  in  front  of 
Hamilton  ;  the  guns  of  which,  being  loaded  with  grape  and 
canister,  at  once  opened  fire  upon  the  foe.  Just  then 
an  orderly,  covered  with  dust  and  his  horse  white  with 
foam,  dashed  up  to  Colonel  Irving,  and  after  exchanging  a 
few  hurried  words,  rode  rapidly  off  to  another  part  of  the 
field. 


TWO  PATRIOTS.  105 

Colonel  Irving  slowly  walked  his  horse  up  to  Hamil 
ton,  and  in  a  low  tone,  ordered  him  to  form  his  battalion 
in  front  of  the  battery,  and  charge  the  enemy  at  once. 

Their  turn  had  come  at  last.  Hamilton  formed  his 
men  as  directed;  and  after  proudly  glancing  along  the 
line,  he  rose  in  his  stirrups,  and  looked  earnestly  over  the 
field.  But  the  dense  cloud  of  smoke  which  hung  like  a 
pall  over  the  scene,  obscured  from  view  everything  but 
the  flashing  of  the  enemy's  guns.  For  a  few  moments  the 
artillery  of  the  enemy  ceased  firing,  and  a  little  bird, 
frightened  from  the  woods,  alighted  on  a  tree  near  by,  and 
began  to  pour  forth  its  evening  hymn. 

Hamilton  afterwards  said  that  even  at  this  terrible  mo 
ment  the  incongruity  of  the  thing  attracted  his  attention. 

The  horrible  uproar  again  commenced,  as  the  bugles, 
loud  and  ringing,  sounded  the  charge.  "  Ready  men  ! 
Forward  !  "  shouted  Hamilton  in  clear  trumpet  tones  ;  and 
with  teeth  firmly  set,  eyes  flashing  with  the  fierce  excite 
ment  of  battle,  legs  closely  pressing  their  horses  sides, 
and  with  drawn  sabres,  they  plunged  madly  down  the 
hillside,  leaving  in  their  rear  a  dense  cloud  of  dust,  as 
they  swept  like  a  whirlwind  over  the  field,  and  with  a  wild 
yell  disappeared  in  the  smoke  which  covered  the  enemy. 
"  Onward  they  boldly  rode  and  well." 

They  flung  themselves  like  a  thunderbolt  against  the 
masses  of  the  enemy,  dealing  death  and  destruction  on 
every  side. 

But  the  overwhelming  numbers  compelled  them  to  re 
treat  ;  and  leaving  half  their  number  on  the  field,  the  rest 
whirled  and  galloped  wildly  to  the  right,  and  cutting  their 
way  back  again,  dashed  past  the  battery  they  had  left  but 
a  short  time  before,  so  proud  and  confident.  Some,  una- 


106  ARMOUR. 

ble  to  check  the  headlong  speed  of  their  horses,  were 
carried  far  into  the  rear  amongst  the  infantry.  It  was  a 
desperate  charge,  and  considering  the  small  number  en 
gaged,  a  fearful  slaughter  ;  but  it  accomplished  the  pur 
pose  for  which  it  was  intended,  and  checked  the  attempt 
of  the  enemy  to  charge  the  battery. 

As  Hamilton,  with  the  remnant  of  his  command  wheeled 
to  the  right,  and  swept  like  lightning  through  the  ranks 
of  the  enemy,  he  felt  a  sharp,  burning  sensation  in  his 
shoulder ;  and  for  a  few  minutes  afterwards  scarcely  re 
membered  anything  but  of  his  horse  stumbling,  and  finally 
sinking  under  him.  The  poor  animal  was  shot  through 
and  through ;  and  Hamilton,  quickly  disengaging  himself, 
hurried  away,  but,  unable  to  resist,  he  turned  for  a  moment 
to  look  at  his  dying  steed,  which,  with  an  expression  al 
most  human  in  its  supplication  and  agony,  looked  after  its 
master,  and  gently  whinnied. 

The  piteous  appeal  of  the  dying  animal  was  too  much 
for  the  kind  heart  of  Hamilton,  who,  notwithstanding  the 
storm  of  grape  and  canister  which  filled  the  air,  hurried 
back,  and  pulling  his  pistol  from  the  holster,  quickly 
ended  its  misery. 

Making  his  way,  wounded  and  on  foot,  to  the  top  of  the 
hill,  where  stood  the  battery  which  they  had  been  support 
ing,  he  was  so  weakened  by  loss  of  blood  as  to  be  compelled 
to  take  an  ambulance  ;  and  during  the  retreat  up  the  Val 
ley,  and  until  they  arrived  at  Washington,  he  suffered 
frightfully  from  his  wound,  which  was  a  serious  one,  and 
slow  in  healing. 

Receiving  a  furlough  on  account  of  it  he  returned  to 
Armour,  where  he  had  been  reported  as  killed. 

When  he  alighted  from  the  cars,  pale  and  wan  looking, 
he  was  joyously  received  by  his  townsmen  with  all  the 


TWO  PATRIOTS.  107 

honors  of  a  hero.  Larry  had  always  been  popular,  espe 
cially  with  the  poorer  people  and  the  laboring  men. 
Raised  amongst  them  from  boyhood,  unlike  Conyngham, 
he  had  a  kind  word  and  a  pleasant  smile  for  all,  and 
knew  no  distinctions  amongst  men  but  those  of  honesty, 
geniality,  and  manliness.  As  boy  or  man  he  had  always 
been  the  same  whole-souled  and  genial  companion.  No 
one  had  ever  known  him  to  take  advantage  of  his  social 
position  to  make  others  uncomfortable,  while  Conyngham 
availed  himself  of  every  opportunity  that  presented  to 
make  himself  disagreeable  by  his  rudeness,  arrogance, 
and  self-assertion.  It  could  be  truly  said  that  Hamilton 
was  as  universally  liked  as  Conyngham  was  disliked  by 
every  one  in  the  community. 

During  the  period  he  remained  at  home,  his  time  was 
pleasantly  spent  in  the  company  of  Emily  Charlton  and 
Fannie  Adair,  and  when  he  returned  to  his  regiment, 
truth  compels  the  admission  that  Emily  had  nearly  suc 
ceeded  in  obliterating  the  memory  of  the  unfortunate  affair  of 
the  reception,  and  had  also  proven  to  him  more  fascinating 
than  ever ;  and  in  his  ch&teaux  en  Espagne,  after  the  war, 
Emily  always  figured  conspicuously. 


108  ARMOUR. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

WHICH   WILL   IT   BE? 

THE  great  rebellion  was  over  and  peace  again  reigned 
supreme  throughout  the  land. 

Hamilton  had  returned  home  with  a  hard-earned  eagle 
upon  his  shoulder,  which  he  wore  with  becoming  modesty, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  with  the  proud  consciousness  that  it 
had  been  won,  not  by  political  or  family  influence,  but  by 
rough  riding  and  hard  fighting.  Believing  that  he  deserved 
a  rest  after  three  long  years  of  hardship  and  privation, 
and  especially  as  his  wound  gave  him  considerable  trouble 
of  late,  he  concluded  for  a  time  to  take  the  world  easy. 

That  he  could  long  remain  idle  was  simply  out  of  the 
question.  To  an  active  temperament  like  Hamilton's, 
nothing  could  be  more  irksome  than  inaction.  For  a 
year  he  spent  his  time  in  fugitive  literary  efforts,  which, 
while  not  proving  very  remunerative  in  a  pecuniary  sense, 
made  him  some  reputation  as  a  ready  and  fluent  writer, 
and  proved  invaluable  as  a  means  of  entertaining  him 
self  during  long  hours  that  might  have  been  worse 
employed. 

On  the  most  intimate  footing  with  both  Emily  Charlton 
and  Fannie  Adair,  he  so  delicately  divided  his  attentions 
between  the  two  that  even  the  village  gossips  for  once 
were  at  sea. 

While  Emily  had  all  the  advantages  of  a  prior  and 
older  affection,  the  Washington  affair  had  not  been 


WHICH  WILL  IT  BE1  109 

entirely  forgotten,  and  the  last  few  years  had  made  Ham 
ilton  more  reflective  and  thoughtful ;  he  now  read  Emily's 
shallow  nature  correctly.  Before,  he  had  been  too  young 
and  too  enamoured  to  doubt  the  sincerity  and  depth  of 
the  affection  her  manner  professed  for  him.  To  his 
inexperienced  eyes  then  she  was  all  that  she  affected 
to  be  to  him.  He  knew  now  she  was  simply  flattered 
by  his  passion  for  her,  and  it  was  evident  to  him  that  it 
had  been  returned  more  out  of  vanity  than  real  affection. 
And  as  she  matured  her  little  vanities  developed  into  actual 
silliness,  the  scales  had  fallen  from  his  mental  vision, 
and  the  hallucination  was  over.  He  now  saw  her  as  she 
really  was  —  a  woman  utterly  destitute  of  earnest  convic 
tions  ;  and  while  she  possessed  quick  instinct  in  detecting 
the  weakness  of  those  around  her,  she  had  very  little 
real  intellect,  but  could,  with  the  greatest  facility,  adopt 
any  opinion,  sentiment,  or  manner  that  would  fit  those 
whom  she  desired  to  please.  She  was  all  things  to  all 
men ;  she  flattered  everybody,  and  agreed  with  every 
one,  while  caring  for  none  beyond  the  gratification  of 
her  vanity.  Intensely  egotistic,  she  was  also  weak  and 
vacillating,  and  with  no  force  of  character  whatever.  Self 
was  her  only  consideration.  By  her  vanity  she  lived. 
She  could  not  bear  to  be  thought  ill  of  by  any  person, 
no  matter  by  whom  ;  it  tortured  her.  Hence,  the  pli 
ancy  with  which  she  suited  herself  to  everybody's  way  of 
thinking. 

Fanny  Adair's  bright  and  cheerful  ways,  wonderful  tact, 
and  good  sense  had  won  greatly  upon  him  since  his 
return  home.  She  was  now  his  confidant  in  everything. 
Fanny  possessed  what  Larry  lacked  —  an  even,  cheerful, 
and  happy  disposition  under  any  and  all  circumstances, 
and  .j  '  •  --.ghlv  well-grounded  belief  and  faith  in  the 


1 10  ARMOUR. 

religious  principles  of  her  parents,  which  were  of  the 
strictest  Calvinistic  school.  She  believed  in  living  up  to, 
and  practicing,  its  teachings  in  her  every  day  life,  at  all 
times,  and  was  never  content  with  the  thin  veneering  of 
Christianity  so  fashionable  amongst  modern  Christians, 
and  which  makes  its  appearance  regularly  every  Sabbath 
morning,  and  culminates  with  a  grand  dress  parade  after 
church. 

At  this  stage  of  affairs,  Conyngham  appeared  upon  the 
scene  as  a  suitor  for  Emily's  hand.  Since  the  breaking  off 
of  his  engagement  with  Miss  Emory  he  had  completely 
absorbed  himself  in  making  money,  and,  under  his  father's 
instructions  and  tuition,  he  had  of  late  begun  to  try  his 
hand  in  politics. 

Judge  Charlton's  (Emily's  father)  influence  politically, 
throughout  the  state,  was  second  only  to  that  of  General 
Conyngham,  and  as  we  have  mentioned  before,  it  was  the 
great  desire  of  the  Conyngham's  to  see  an  alliance  between 
the  two  families  through  Malcolm  and  Emily,  and  thus 
to  form  a  political  and  social  combination  that  would  make 
its  influence  felt  even  in  national  affairs. 

Judge  and  Mrs.  Charlton  were  both  anxious  to  have  him 
for  a  son-in-law,  and  the  only  question  which  perplexed 
Malcolm  was  how  to  dispose  of  Hamilton,  as  he  felt  morally 
certain  that  Emily's  affections  to  a  great  extent  were  al 
ready  engaged.  But  his  scheming  brain  and  determined 
will  soon  found  a  way  to  remove  all  obstacles. 

He  at  once  proceeded  to  pay  the  most  marked  attention 
to  her,  and  with  his  usual  shrewdness,  and  knowledge  of 
the  secret  springs  which  influence  human  nature,  he  began 
to  insidiously  play  upon  Emily's  quick  pride  and  vain 
nature.  He  was  entirely  mistaken  in  regard  to  Larry's 
real  feelings  towards  Emily,  and  thought  him  deeply  in 


WHICH  WILL  IT  BE  ?  in 

love  with  her,  but  had  no  fears  but  that  some  scheme  would 
suggest  itself,  by  which  he  could  rid  himself  of  the  only 
remaining  barrier  to  his  matrimonial  ambition. 

But  Conyngham  had  exaggerated  Hamilton's  attentions 
to  Emily.  While  the  latter  was  apparently  as  attentive  to 
one  as  the  other  of  the  young  ladies,  he  was  in  reality  com 
pletely  enamored  of  Fannie.  The  last  few  years,  she  had 
bloomed  into  a  beautiful  woman,  and  was  as  fascinating 
as  beautiful.  Although  Hamilton  had  a  Sybarite's  love  of 
beauty  in  a  woman,  yet  his  fastidious  taste  required  a 
combination  of  intellect  and  society  culture  as  well,  and 
Fannie  Adair  not  only  united  all  these  charms  and  grace 
ful  qualities,  but  she  was  also  a  woman  of  fixed  principles 
and  thoroughly  conscientious. 

It  had  seemed  but  natural  for  Fannie  from  childhood  to 
look  upon  Larry  Hamilton  as  her  beau  ideal  of  all  that  was 
refined  and  chivalrous,  as  it  was  for  her  to  breath  the  air 
around  her.  Yet  at  times  when  her  mother  ventured  to 
remonstrate  with  her,  and  referred  to  Larry's  former  irregu 
larities  and  his  apparent  indisposition  to  settle  down  to 
some  steady  pursuit  like  other  young  men,  as  indicative  of 
a  disposition  which  would  soon  find  the  restraints  of  do 
mestic  life  irksome,  and  likely  to  make  unhappy  the  woman 
he  married,  she  could  not  deny  to  herself  that  her  mother 
had  good  reasons  for  thinking  so,  and  admitted  that  her 
mother's  thoughts  were  true  reflections  of  her  own. 

No  sadder  or  more  solemn  consideration,  nor  one  more 
pregnant  with  joy  or  misery,  presents  itself  to  the  mind  of 
a  thoughtful  woman,  than  when  she  reasons  within  herself 
the  momentous  questions,  —  will  this  man  drag  me  down 
to  his,  or  can  I  bring  him  up  to  my,  moral  level  ? 

But  the  time  for  hesitation  had  long  since  passed. 
They  were  now  absolutely  necessary  to  one  another's  hap 
piness. 


112  ARMOUR. 

Emily,  piqued,  mortified,  and  wounded,  at  Hamilton's 
attention  to  Fannie,  encouraged  Conyngham's  suit ;  and 
while  his  attentions  at  first  were  distasteful  to  her,  the 
prospect  of  a  wealthy  establishment  dazzled  and  recon 
ciled  her  to  the  prospective  alliance.  Her  manner  towards 
him  soon  set  at  rest  all  Conyngham's  fears  as  to  final  re 
sults.  But  his  jealous  and  suspicious  nature  still  feared 
Hamilton's  possible  interference. 

Returning  home  from  the  war  with  the  reputation  of  a 
brave  and  gallant  officer,  who  had  fought  his  way  up  from 
the  ranks  by  his  own  unaided  gallantry,  both  handsome 
and  winning,  Lawrence  Hamilton  had  received  enough 
attention  from  the  fair  sex  to  have  turned  the  heads  of 
most  young  men  ;  and  even  Malcolm  Conyngham,  much  to 
the  chagrin  of  that  gentleman,  was  obliged  for  some  time 
after  Larry's  return  to  occupy  a  secondary  position  in 
society- 


MY  QUEEN.  113 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

MY   QUEEN.  . 

WHILE  conversing  with  his  friend  Conyngham  one  even 
ing,  Hamilton  casually  referred  to  the-  provision  in  his 
father's  will,  under  which  it  would  be  necessary  for  him  to 
engage  in  some  business  pursuit  before  he  could  claim  a 
large  sum  devised  to  him,  upon  that  condition,  at  a  certain 
age ;  and  Conyngham,  all  intent  on  getting  his  supposed 
rival  in  Emily's  affection  out  of  the  way,  at  once  suggested 
his  taking  a  position  on  the  road  he  was  operating,  and 
which,  he  remarked,  though  it  might  not  prove  either  very 
congenial  or  lucrative,  was  the  best  thing  he  could  do  for 
the  present,  and  would  enable  him  to  claim  this  advance 
from  his  father's  estate. 

Hamilton  gladly  accepted  the  position,  and  shortly  after 
left  for  Hazleton,  an  important  transferring  station  on 
Conyngham's  road,  and  for  the  time  being  became  a  rail 
road  official,  although  in  a  rather  subordinate  position. 

His  duties  here  threw  him  almost  entirely  amongst  the 
laboring  men  and  the  hard-working  employees,  but  also 
gave  him  unusual  facilities  for  learning  the  ways,  and 
studying  the  actions  of  the  higher  officials.  Being  natu 
rally  quick  and  observing,  he  soon  became  thoroughly  con 
versant  with  the  hardships  and  privations  of  the  one  class, 
and  the  greed  and  tyranny  of  the  other,  and  the  unscrupu 
lous  means  by  which  they  enriched  themselves  at  the  ex 
pense  of  the  public,  by  special  freight  rates,  rebates,  draw- 


114  ARMOUR. 

backs,  secret  contracts  with  shippers,  and  the  discrimina 
tions  and  preferences  by  which  they  prey  and  flourish  upon 
local  traffic,  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  people  and  busi- 
interests  along  their  lines. 

Hamilton's  absence  from  Armour  convinced  him  of  the 
fact,  that  without  the  society  of  Fannie  Adair  life  was  not 
only  insipid,  but  well  nigh  unendurable;  and  he  looked 
forward  to  going  home  on  Saturday  with  the  impatience 
that  only  lovers  can  fully  appreciate  and  understand. 

"Two  letters  for  you,  Mr.  Hamilton,  and  both  in  ladies' 
handwriting.  How  fortunate  you  are,"  laughed  his  assist- 
tant,  pleasantly,  one  beautiful  morning  in  May,  as  he 
handed  him  the  delicately  perfumed  missives. 

Larry's  heart  beat  rapidly,  and  a  faint  flush  overspread 
his  manly  countenance  for  a  moment,  as  he  recognized  on 
one  of  them  Fannie's  delicate  chirograph) . 

Opening  it  nervously,  he  found  therein  an  invitation  to 
attend  a  party  in  the  woods  on  the  following  day. 

As  it  was  lovely  May  weather,  and  business  was  slack, 
he  concluded  to  accept  it. 

Opening  the  other,  he  could  not  repress  an  exclamation 
of  surprise  as  he  read  the  following :  — 

'•'•Judge  and  Mrs.  Mary  N.  Charlton  request  the  honor 
of  your  presence  at  the  marriage  of  their  daughter  Emily 
to  Malcolm  Conyngham,  Esq.,  on  Wednesday  Evening,  June 
2oM,  at  7  o'clock,  at  the  Clinton  Avenue  Presbyterian 
Church." 

That  evening  he  left  for  Armour,  and  the  next  morning 
called  early  on  Fanny,  in  order  to  engage  her  for  the  day's 
pleasure.  After  ringing  the  door-bell  several  times  and 
receiving  no  answer,  he  passed  unannounced  through  the 
hall  and  into  the  parlor.  As  he  entered  tin-  r<> mi.  n  fr"\vn. 


MY  QUEEN.  115 

as  black  as  night,  gathered  on  his  brow,  as  he  saw  Fannie 
standing  near  the  fire-place,  with  her  upturned  face  smil 
ing  sweetly  into  that  of  a  tall,  handsome  stranger,  who 
stood  with  one  arm  caressingly  thrown  around  her  slender 
waist. 

In  that  moment  he  fully  realized  the  great  depths  of 
his  love  for  her,  and  also  realized  fully  that  for  him  to  lose 
this  woman  was  to  lose  all  hope  and  courage  with  which 
to  fight  the  battle  of  life. 

A  sharp  sword  seemed  to  pierce  his  heart  as  Fannie 
quickly  turned  toward  him  with  a  bright  smile.  But  his  mis 
ery  suddenly  changed  into  joy,  on  recognizing  Ralph  Adair's 
manly  countenance  and  frank  hearty  greeting.  Ralph  had 
completed  his  law  course  under  Littlejohn,  and  had,  dur 
ing  the  last  year,  been  travelling  through  Europe,  before 
finally  settling  down  to  practice. 

Ralph  and  Larry  had  always  been  the  best  of  friends, 
and  their  meeting  was  cordial. 

The  day  of  the  expedition  to  the  woods  was  delightful, 
and  after  a  pleasant  afternoon,  during  which  all  the  lovers 
in  the  party,  as  if  moved  by  some  irresistible  attraction, 
wandered  off  together  in  couples  by  themselves. 

Larry  and  Fannie  strolled  off  on  the  hillside,  where  alone 
amidst  the  green  wo^ds  and  with  the  blue  heavens  above, 
he  thought  to  himself,  "  This  is  my  golden  opportunity ; 
now  or  never."  But  his  heart  failed  him  at  every  attempt 
to  broach  the  subject  nearest  his  heart ;  and  Fannie,  with 
that  inexplicable  timidity,  and  the  strange  perversity  which 
invariably  takes  possession  of  a  woman  when  she  instinct 
ively  feels  the  critical  moment  approaching,  not  only  re 
fused  to  assist  him  in  his  embarrassment,  but,  by  some 
light  and  laughing  remark  and  provoking  badinage, 


1 1 6  ARMOUR. 

seemed  determined  to  prevent  the  conversation  from 
drifting  into  a  dangerous  channel. 

The  brave  and  dashing  young  ex-colonel  of  cavalry 
who  had  faced  death  on  the  battle-field  in  the  most  horri 
ble  form,  now  sat  by  this  young  girl  blushing  and  stam 
mering  like  a  simpering  school  girl. 

At  last,  in  sheer  desperation  he  blurted  out,  in  the 
most  unsentimental  manner  possible,  the  direct  matter-of- 
fact  question,  "  Fannie,  will  you  marry  me  ?  " 

As  her  beautiful  countenance  flushed  crimson  with  the 
roseate  hue  of  love,  and,  speechless  from  unutterable  emo 
tion,  they  gazed  into  each  others  eyes,  it  required  no  words 
to  convey  to  the  enraptured  lover  her  answer.  As  he  fin 
ished  speaking  she  was  clasped  in  his  ardent  embrace. 

While  pleading  eloquently  of  his  loneliness  away  from 
her,  Larry  insisted  on  naming  an  early  day  for  their  wedding. 
But  Fannie  was  firm  in  her  determination  to  wait  until  they 
were  certain  their  attachment  was  not  a  mere  passing  pas 
sion. 

Hamilton's  early  reputation  as  a  fickle  lover,  and  his 
affair  with  Emily  Charlton  had  given  him  a  reputation  for 
inconstancy  that  he  was  far  from  deserving,  and  owing  to 
these  circumstances  he  could  not  reflect  upon  Fannie  for 
her  desire  to  allow  time  to  test  the  strength  and  sincerity 
of  their  attachment. 

As  they  rejoined  their  companions  Larry  was  in  fine 
spirits.  The  party  appeared  suddenly  to  have  new  pleas 
ures  for  him.  A  magician's  wand  seemed  to  have  sud 
denly  opened  to  him  a  world  of  enchantment.  Life  was 
a  delicious  dream.  Everything  was  transformed,  and 
he  returned  to  his  duties  with  a  li^ht  heart  and  a  bound 
ing  hope,  while  his  future  seemed  spread  before  him  like  a 
sweet  vision  of  Paradise.  He  could  think  of  nothing  but 


MY  QUEEN  117 

Fannie  Adair.  Night  and  day,  she  was  his  all-absorbing 
thought.  He  trembled  at  the  very  intensity  of  his  own 
feelings,  while  shuddering  at  the  bare  possibility  of  losing 
her.  It  was  not  mere  passion  of  the  senses,  but  an 
absorbing  love  based  on  the  solid  foundation  of  mutual 
respect  and  friendship,  a  similarity  of  tastes  and  aspira 
tions,  and  intellectual  companionship. 


1 1 8  ARMOUR. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  CORMORANT    CORPORATION. 

THE  Hon.  John  Littlejohn  had,  as  trustee  of  the  Ham 
ilton  estate,  secured  an  influence  over  the  president  of 
the  leading  railroad  running  throughout  the  State,  which 
at  once  opened  to  him  a  rare  opportunity  of  acquiring 
political  power  and  influence,  from  the  fact  that  this 
official  had,  in  a  great  measure,  been  the  architect  of 
Roger  Hamilton's  fortune.  When  the  financial  crash  of 
1857  came,  he  was  embarrassed,  and  on  the  verge  of 
bankruptcy,  when  Roger,  unlike  most  men,  generously 
placed  his  fortune  at  the  disposal  of  his  benefactor,  by 
which  timely  aid  he  succeeded  in  weathering  the  storm. 

During  his  lifetime  Roger  never  collected  this  loan,  and 
it  still  remained  in  the  list  of  securities  held  in  trust  by 
Littlejohn  for  Larry's  benefit.  The  former  was  not  slow 
in  availing  himself  of  such  an  advantage  to  hoist  himself 
into  power  and  influence. 

He  became  the  attorney  of  the  company,  and  succeeded 
in  impressing  the  leading  railroad  official  with  the  idea 
that  he  was  a  man  of  unexceptionable  ability  and  integ 
rity.  In  public  life  he  had  so  far  skilfully  held  himself 
aloof  from  the  corrupting  influences  and  practices  which 
had  made  the  name  of  Conyngham  and  politician,  at  this 
time  and  afterward,  synonymous  with  scheming  rascality. 
He  had  also  proven  his  patriotism  during  the  war,  by  un 
selfishly  placing  both  his  time  and  talents  at  the  <!isp  -al 


THE  CORMORANT  CORPORATION.       119 

of  his  country  in  her  hour  of  peril ;  and  while  not  act 
ually  taking  a  part  in  the  field,  as  an  orator  he  had  been 
invaluable  in  urging  on  braver  men  to  fill  the  deadly  breach. 

The  corporation  he  represented  had  extended  its  power 
all  over  the  state,  and,  vampire  like,  had  drained  dry 
every  channel  of  trade  within  its  influence,  compelling 
every  citizen  in  the  state  to  pay  "  tribute  to  Caesar,"  and 
divided  with  the  Conynghams  the  ownership  and  control  of 
the  legislature  and  the  State  government.  Together,  these 
cormorants  had  joined  hands  and  preyed  on  the  people,  and* 
by  bribing  some  and  electing  other  members  of  the  legis 
lature,  had  succeeded  in  having  such  laws  enacted  as  gave 
them  unlimited  power,  and  complete  control  over  all  other 
business  interests,  and  in  repealing  all  wise  and  restrain 
ing  laws  that  were  obnoxious  to,  or  in  any  way  discrimin 
ated  against,  their  interests. 

The  people  were  now  completely  at  the  mercy  of  this  gigan 
tic  monopoly  and  its  friends  and  henchmen,  the  Conyng 
hams.  Not  only  had  it  secured  control  of  the  legislature 
and  executive  branches  of  the  government,  but  the  same 
means  had  been  successfully  wielded  in  capturing  and 
controlling  the  judiciary  of  the  state  to  such  an  extent  as 
to  secure  all  of  the  most  important  decisions  in  its  favor,  thus 
leaving  the  people  without  recourse,  and  completely  pros 
trated  before  its  power ;  and  in  all  but  name  was  as  auto 
cratic  and  tyrannical  in  the  exercise  of  its  ill-gotten  power 
as  is  the  Czar  of  all  the  Russias. 

In  defiance  of  the  express  provision  of  their  charter, 
and  through  the  means  already  referred  to,  the  leading 
officials  had  acquired  immense  wealth ;  and  in  answer  to 
the  indignant  protest  of  a  long-suffering  people,  sneer- 
ingly  asked  them,  "  What  are  you  going  to  do  about  it." 
The  representatives  of  other  states  amused  themselves  by 


120  ARMOUR. 

jibing  the  people  for  thus  tamely  submitting  to  the  loss  of 
their  manhood  and  independence,  and  sneeringly  referred 
to  each  branch  of  the  government  as  being  under  the 
ownership  and  control  of  this  corporation  and  the  Cony- 
nyhams,  and  on  this  account  ignoring  the  right  of  the  peo 
ple  to  any  share  in  the  general  government. 

To  such  gigantic  proportions  had  this  power  now  grown, 
and  so  insolent  had  it  become  in  its  mandates,  that  no 
matter  how  pure  or  talented,  no  man  in  the  State,  except 
through  its  influence  or  that  of  the  Conyngham's,  could 
ever  hope  to  attain  any  position  of  prominence  in  public 
affairs,  and  then  only  by  the  most  humiliating  sacrifice 
of  honor  and  independence.  The  natural  consequence  of 
this  was  that  men  who  would  have  reflected  honor  on  the 
people  and  the  state  refused  to  bow  the  knee  to  Baal,  or 
like  Mordecai  in  the  king's  gate,  stooped  not  to  their 
behests,  nor  did  reverence  to  their  presence ;  and  the 
legislative,  judicial,  and  executive  departments  of  the  gov- 
erment  were  left  in  the  hands  of  the  remorseless  Hamans, 
whose  ambitious  thirst  for  power  was  only  exceeded  by 
their  inordinate  avarice  and  unscrupulous  desire  for  gain, 
and  those  who,  like  whipped  spaniels,  crawling  at  the  feet 
of  their  masters,  would  lick  the  hands  that  beat  them,  and 
cheerfully  do  their  bidding. 

These  two  combined  monopolies  of  stolen  political 
power  and  ill-gotten  wealth,  were  united  as  against  the 
people.  They  plundered  them  without  stint,  divided  the 
spoils,  and  rode  rough-shod  over  them,  having  rendered 
legislation  a  disgraceful  farce,  and  justice  a  hollow  mock 
ery,  every  legislator  having  his  fixed  price,  and  there  being 
but  few  judges  on  the  bench  who  did  not  owe  their  posi 
tions  to  the  manipulations  of  this  corporation  through  the 
Conynghams. 


THE  CORMORANT  CORPORATION.     121 

The  large  bribes  offered  to  legislators  by  this  corpora 
tion  attracted  to  its  body  men  who  were  willing  to  spend 
their  time  and  the  money  of  the  corporation,  under  the 
supervision  of  the  Conynghams,  in  corrupting  and  de 
bauching  their  constituents,  in  order  to  get  to  the  capital, 
that  they  might  there  avail  themselves  of  "the  thrift  that 
follows  fawning." 

But  in  time  the  people  became  aroused  and  alarmed. 

By  long  success  and  immunity  from  exposure  and  pun 
ishment,  this  Ring  became  reckless  and  insolent  in  their 
demands,  and  oppressive  in  their  dealings  with  the  people; 
while  their  open  and  shameless  debauchery  of  the  legis 
lature  and  the  judiciary  had  given  the  state  such  an 
unenviable  and  disgraceful  notoriety  as  to  become  a 
stench  in  the  nostrils  of  every  honest  man  throughout  the 
State,  irrespective  of  parties. 

When  a  vacancy  now  occurred  in  the  United  States 
Senate,  the  people  determined  to  place  in  this  high  office 
a  man  who  would  not  be  the  subservient  tool  of  the  Ring, 
and  for  the  first  time  in  their  infamous  career,  the  Ring 
was  compelled  to  bow  before  the  storm  of  popular  indig 
nation  and  to  submit  to  the  will  of  the  people,  who  de 
manded,  in  tones  not  to  be  misunderstood,  that  a  man 
should  be  selected  whose  high  character  and  reputation 
would  be  a  sufficient  guarantee  that  they  could  not  con 
trol  him. 

The  company  had  grand  schemes  for  a  trans-continen 
tal  railroad  route,  and  unfortunately,  at  the  very  time, 
needed  a  man  in  the  senate  chamber  who  was  possessed 
of  great  legal  abilities,  and  upon  whom  they  could  depend 
to  do  their  bidding,  and  be  of  service  in  obtaining  valu 
able  franchises  from  the  government,  and  in  securing 
certain  needed  legislation. 


122  ARMOUR. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

A   CONYNGHAM   CAUCUS. 

As  the  elder  Conyngham  sat  one  evening  in  his  library 
with  his  son,  and  three  or  four  of  their  henchmen,  discuss 
ing  the  coming  senatorial  contest  and  arranging  their 
programme,  they  were  an  interesting  study. 

"  What  do  you  think  of  the  company's  choice  for  sena 
tor,  General  ?  "  asked  a  thin,  dark-skinned,  consumptive- 
looking,  little  fellow,  with  bright  eyes  and  a  nervous,  rest 
less  manner. 

"  He  is  no  doubt  a  very  honest  man,"  replied  the  gen 
eral,  moodily. 

"Well,  that  will  suit  us  exactly,"  replied  Mr.  Questor, 
the  Sphinx  and  Mephistopheles  of  the  Ring. 

Mr.  Questor  was  a  short,  thick-set,  little  man,  who 
imagined  himself  very  much  like  General  Grant,  and  imi 
tated  the  taciturnity  of  the  general  so  well  that  his  owl- 
like  assumption  of  wisdom  and  profundity  never  failed  to 
inspire  awe  in  the  minds  of  verdant  and  timid  country  mem 
bers.  His  large,  dark  eyes  had  a  great  deal  of  white  in 
them, — eyes  which,  in  a  horse,  invariably  suggest  a  tricky 
and  unreliable  disposition.  To  still  further  carry  out  his 
supposed  mental  resemblance  to  General  Grant,  he  was 
rarely  without  a  cigar  in  his  mouth,  and  he  assumed  a 
modesty  of  demeanor  well  calculated  to  deceive  the  un 
wary.  He  had  succeeded  to  the  leadership  of  the  Ring 
by  his  wonderful  adeptness  in  suggesting  new  and  original 


THE  CORMORANT  CORPORATION.       123 

schemes  for  manipulating  votes,  and  closing  the  eyes  of 
the  people  ;  and  for  "ways  that  were  dark,  and  tricks  that 
were  vain  "  he  was  famous.  To  him  the  Conynghams  were 
indebted  for  the  brains  and  cunning  which  marked  their 
political  management  and  wire-pulling,  but  for  which 
they  had  always  received  the  credit. 

The  Conynghams  furnished  the  money  and  laid  out  the 
general  plan  of  these  campaigns,  and  left  the  whole  mat 
ter  in  the  hands  of  Questor  and  his  subordinates.  The 
first  speaker,  the  dark-complexioned  little  man,  was  the 
executive  of  the  Ring,  and  pushed  forward  their  plans 
to  completion,  and  to  him  was  left  the  arranging  of  all 
the  details.  These  men  had  no  scruples  whatever,  and 
were  all  old  ward-politicians,  thoroughly  saturated  in  the 
dirty  mire  of  local  political  strife,  and  had  long  parted 
with  whatever  vestige  of  scruples  they  had  ever  possessed 
—  if  they  ever  had  had  any,  which  was  doubtful.  They 
were  men  who  hesitated  at  nothing  to  carry  out  the  pur 
poses  and  schemes  of  the  Ring.  Coarse  creatures,  they 
not  only  gloried  in  their  shame,  but  in  their  ignorance  and 
egotism  imagined  themselves  to  be  great  men,  and  it  would 
have  been  impossible  to  have  convinced  them  that  the  re 
spectable  portion  of  the  community  looked  upon  them  as 
common  rogues. 

So  that  they  made  money  and  could  revel  in  gross 
pleasures  were  the  highest  objects  of  their  ambition ;  and 
in  order  to  acquire  the  means  of  doing  this,  they  were 
willing  to  sell  themselves  body  and  soiil  to  their  master. 

"  I  have  seen  a  great  many  different  kinds  of  men  in  my 
day,"  said  the  general,  —  who  was  very  fond  of  indulg 
ing  in  long-winded  reminiscences  in  which  he  figured  prom 
inently  as  the  hero,  —  "  and  I  have  always  found  lawyers 
to  be  narrow  and  illiberal  in  their  views.  They  never 


124  ARMOUR. 

make  good  statesmen.  What  we  want  in  the  United 
States  Senate,  are  men  who  can  fully  comprehend  the  wants 
of  the  people,  and  who  are  thoroughly  informed  on  all  the 
live  issues  of  the  day  —  men  who  are  in  perfect  accord  with 
the  people ;  men  of  good,  hard  common  sense,  practical, 
and  not  bothered  with  any  new-fangled  ideas.  Printers, 
in  my  judgment,  are  the  best  material  from  which  to  make 
good  statesmen  —  men  like  Benjamin  Franklin  for  in 
stance."  The  general  made  no  reference  here  to  himself, 
but  left  that  for  inference,  as  in  his  younger  days  he  had, 
as  before  mentioned,  been  for  a  short  time  interested  in  a 
newspaper  in  some  way.  By  flattering  the  profession  he 
was  not  only  indirectly  offering  up  incense  to  his  own 
vanity,  but  at  the  same  time  did  it  on  the  principle  of 
"  you  tickle  me,  I  tickle  you."  He  had  reaped  many  bene 
fits  and  considerable  gratuitous  advertising,  during  his 
public  life,  in  this  way.  But  of  late  it  had  become  monoto 
nous  and  lost  its  efficacy  by  too  constant  repetition.  Edi 
tors  can  no  more  live  entirely  on  taffy  than  can  the  mem 
bers  of  any  other  profession. 

During  the  general's  remarks  an  amused  smile  displayed 
itself  on  the  countenance  of  one  of  the  coterie,  who  was 
evidently  the  superior  of  the  rest  in  refinement  and  intel 
lectuality,  and  looked  sadly  out  of  place  amongst  the  medi 
ocrity  which  surrounded  him.  He  appeared  uncomforta 
ble,  and  did  not  seem  very  well  pleased  with  his  company. 
The  whole  business  was  evidently  distasteful.  "  The  peo 
ple  think  Littlejohn  will  elevate  our  national  politics,  and 
believe  he  will  become  a  second  Sumner  if  sent  to  the 
senate,"  remarked  this  gentleman,  pleasantly. 

The  mention  of  Sumner's  name  produced  the  same 
effect  on  the  general  that  the  shaking  of  a  red  flag  by  a 
Spanish  matador  would  have  had  in  the  face  of  a  mad 


THE  CORMORANT  CORPORATION.     125 

bull.  His  countenance  instantly  assumed  an  angry  expres 
sion,  and  losing  all  control  over  himself,  he  railed  bitterly. 
"  Nothing  worse  could  happen  to  this  State  than  to  be  rep 
resented  in  the  United  States  Senate  by  a  crazy,  egotistical 
enthusiast,  and  an  impracticable  visionary  like  Sumner. 
These  d d  literary  fellows  are  the  ruination  of  the  coun 
try,  and  are  of  no  more  practical  use  in  the  senate  than  a 
college  professor  would  be  in  managing  one  of  our  cam 
paigns.  I  tell  you  it  takes  a  very  peculiar  kind  of  ability 
now-a-days  to  run  a  government.  The  old  style  of  states 
men,  like  Jefferson,  Hamilton,  Webster,  Clay,  and  Cal- 
houn,  would  be  mere  puppets  in  the  senate  to-day.  You 
must  remember  the  country  and  the  times  have  changed 
very  much  since  that  day.  The  country  has  grown  out  of 
its  swaddling  clothes,  and  cannot  live  any  longer  on  a  diet 
of  bread  and  milk.  We  need  statesmen  who  are  thor 
oughly  practical,  and  who  don't  bother  themselves  with 
overhauling  libraries  and  making  fine  speeches ;  but  what 
the  people  want  now  in  a  statesman,  is  one  who  knows  how 
to  take  care  of  their  interests,  and  push  their  bills  through 
the  committees,  and  not  let  other  fellows  get  ahead  of 
them." 

After  the  venerable  statesman  had  delivered  himself  of 
this  grand  definition  of  the  qualifications  he  thought  nec 
essary  for  a  modern  statesman,  he  proceeded  to  wipe  off 
his  glasses,  and  looked  around  on  the  group  with  an  ex 
pression  that  said  plainer  than  words,  "  Proceed,  my  chil 
dren  ;  I  am  now  ready  to  hear  what  you  have  to  say  to 
me,"  while  his  face  wore  the  bland  and  pleased  expression 
that  invariably  followed  an  intellectual  effort  like  the  fore 
going;  and  he  never  failed  to  secure  an  attentive  and 
grateful  audience  amongst  the  paid  harpies  and  obsequious 
lackeys  who  constantly  surrounded  him,  and  who  appeared 


126  ARMOUR. 

only  too  glad  to  sit  at  the  feet  of  wisdom,  and  humbly 
avail  themselves  of  the  general's  ripe  experience  and  wise 
and  statesman-like  views  on  great  questions  of  govern 
mental  policy  and  state-craft. 

"All  I  fear,"  broke  in  the  younger  Conyngham,  "  is  that 
if  Littlejohn  once  gets  into  the  senate  he  will  become  un 
manageable,  and  think  his  own  ability  placed  him  there. 
It  is  just  such  pious  and  Christian  statesmen  who  gener 
ally  kick  the  ladder  by  which  they  have  climbed  into  power 
and  place  from  under  them  when  safely  seated.  I  believe 
he  will  prove  ungrateful,  and  lose  sight  of  a  fact,  —  of  which 
no  one  is  more  fully  aware  than  himself,  —  that  if  he  does 
go  to  the  senate,  it  will  be  through  the  company's  money 
and  our  manipulations,  and  a  iucky^  combination  of  cir 
cumstances.  We  have  to  compromise  with  the  people  this 
time.  It  will  not  be  his  Christian  character,  integrity,  or 
legal  abilities,  he  so  prides  himself  on  possessing,  that 
will  put  him  through;  but,  as  I  said  before,  the  company's 
money  and  our  work.  He  knows  well  enough  that  this  in 
fernal  fuss  about  corruption  and  Ring  rule  for  several 
year's  back,  has  been  kicked  up  by  a  few  disappointed 
newspaper  editors  and  office  seekers.  Littlejohn  is  very 
oily  and  bland  just  now,  and  while  verbally  promising 
everything,  will  bind  himself  to  no  pledges.  But  he  is 
perfectly  willing  that  we  should  do  all  the  dirty  work  for 
him." 

"  I  believe  Malcolm  is  about  right  on  Littlejohn,"  spoke 
the  sage.  "  However,  we  can't  do  anything  without  the 
company's  assistance,  and  they  insist  upon  our  taking  him. 
They  need  a  man  like  Littlejohn  in  the  senate  for  the  next 
few  years,  and  in  fact,  must  have  a  man  well  versed  in 
law ;  and  he  is  their  choice.  They  will  furnish  plenty  of 
funds  if  we  put  him  through,  and  they  will  also  guarantee 


A  CONY1NGHAM  CAUCUS.  127 

to  keep  him  straight  and  not  allow  him  to  interfere  with 
our  management  in  the  state." 

So  it  was  settled  in  this  little  caucus,  in  the  library  of  a 
private  house,  by  such  men  as  these,  who  should  be  the 
next  United  States  Senator.  And  this,  long  before  the 
legislature  convened  for  the  purpose  of  afterwards  going 
through  the  ridiculous  farce  of  making  the  people  believe 
they  had  something  to  say  in  reference  to  the  selection 
of  one  who  was  to  represent  their  great  State  in  the  coun 
cils  of  the  nation,  and  to  whom  was  to  be  confided  the  in 
terests  of  a  great  commonwealth. 

Before  the  election  of  a  senator  the  members  of  a  legis 
lature,  who  owed  their  election  to  money  furnished  by  the 
Ring,  were  quietly  brought  together,  their  duties  assigned  to 
them,  and  the  cue  given  for  carrying  out  their  respective  parts. 
Every  man  was  given  his  approximate -value,  and  where 
money  would  not  affect  them,  on  account  of  constitutional 
timidity,  other  means  were  found  by  which  their  votes 
were  secured.  All  members  were  furnished  with  free  passes 
over  this  company's  road  and  its  branches,  against  ex 
press  laws  which  forbade  their  accepting  them  ;  and  some 
of  the  very  judges  on  the  supreme  bench  were  known,  in 
the  same  manner,  to  place  themselves  under  obligations  to 
this  monopoly. 

In  very  much  the  same  manner  were  selected  and  elect 
ed  the  governor,  state  treasurer,  and  all  other  important 
officers  throughout  the  state,  and,  most  deplorable  of  all, 
most  of  the  judges. 


128  ARMOUR. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

WHAT   NEXT? 

MALCOLM  CONYNGHAM'S  wedding  was  an  event  long 
remembered  in  the  annals  of  Armour.  The  uniting  of 
two  such  fortunes  and  families,  so  long  prominent  in  polit 
ical  affairs,  was  an  event  which  caused  considerable  com 
ment  throughout  the  country. 

The  politicians  spoke  of  it  as  a  great  stroke  of  policy  on 
Malcolm's  part,  for  furthering  the  advancement  of  his 
political  aspirations,  and  perfectly  in  keeping  with  his 
character  as  a  shrewd  and  far-seeing  politician. 

"  Ralph,"  said  Hamilton,  as  he  tilted  his  chair  against 
his  friend's  law  office,  while  lighting  a  fresh  cigar  in  the 
bright  moonlight  of  a  delightful  evening  in  June,  after 
returning  from  Conyngham's  grand  wedding,  "  I  guess  you 
think  I  was  about  right  when  I  said  Malcolm  Conyngham 
would  some  day  be  a  great  man.  He  has  the  field  clear 
before  him  now.  This  match  will  help  him  wonderfully. 
Judge  Charlton  has  nearly  as  much  influence  politically 
as  General  Conyngham. 

"You  know  if  Grant  is  again  elected  president  —  and*it 
looks  that  way  now  —  Malcolm  will  have  great  influence 
with  the  administration,  and  will  get  pretty  near  anything 
he  chooses  to  ask  for  from  him.  You  are  aware  of  the 
latter's  weakness  for  very  rich  men,  whose  bounties  he 
has  accepted  so  frequently,  as  to  earn  for  him  the  unen 
viable  distinction  of  having  it  said  of  him  that  he  '  was 


WHAT  NEXT!  129 

first  in  war,  first  in  peace,  and  deep  into  the  pockets  of 
his  countrymen.' ' 

"  Malcolm  Conyngham  may  be  a  successful  man,"  re- 
plied  Ralph,  "  but  a  great  one,  never.  He  has  none  of 
the  elements  of  greatness  in  him.  Owing  to  a  lucky  chain 
of  circumstances,  and  the  accident  of  being  Jacob  Con- 
yngham's  son,  he  found  everything  prepared  for  him  on 
his  road  to  success.  All  he  had  to  do  was  to  stretch 
forth  his  hand.  I  admit  he  is  great  in  one  thing." 

"  What  is  that  ?  " 

"  Great  in  his  unparalleled  selfishness  and  avarice  ! " 

"Ralph,  you  never  liked  Malcolm.  What  was  the 
reason  ? " 

"  If  you  can  satisfactorily  answer  me  some  questions  I 
will  answer  yours.  Did  you  ever  know  Malcolm  Conyng 
ham  to  do  one  disinterestedly  kind  act  ?  Did  you  ever 
know  him  to  have  one  warm,  personal  friend,  and,  with 
all  his  great  wealth  and  numerous  opportunities  for  help 
ing  his  less  fortunate  fellow-men,  has  he  ever,  to  your 
knowledge,  done  it,  even  where  it  would  cost  him  neither 
effort  or  self-denial  ?  And  can  you  deny  that  all  his  busi 
ness  transactions  have  been  marked  by  the  most  sordid 
greed  and  utter  disregard  for  the  claims  or  rights  of 
others  ?  As  for  his  word,  you  know  as  well  I  do,  that  he 
thinks  no  more  of  breaking  it,  when  it  suits  him  to  do  so, 
than  did  Ananias  and  Sapphira. 

"  I  always  looked  upon  him  as  a  very  ordinary  man,  who  is 
anxious  to  be  considered  a  very  extraordinary  one,  and  yet, 
with  all  his  great  wealth  and  immense  advantages  over  other 
men,  he  has  so  far  only  astonished  the  country  by  his  utter 
disregard  for  everybody's  interests  but  his  own,  and  by 
a  humiliating  display  of  mediocrity  whenever  he  attempts 


130  ARMOUR. 

the  role  of  a  public  man.  He  has  made  money  ;  but 
who  could  help  making  money  situated  as  he  was  ?  It 
does  not  require  a  very  high  order  of  talent  to  accumu 
late  wealth.  All  that  is  necessary  is  to  be  mean  and 
miserly,  take  every  advantage  you  can  over  the  weak,  con 
fiding,  and  ignorant,  hoard  up  every  penny  and  deny  your 
self  every  comfort,  and  you  will  be  rich  as  certainly  as  you 
will  be  hated  and  despised." 

"  Gould,  Disraeli,  Conkling,  and  Cameron,  are  the  heroes 
of  this  nineteenth  century.     And  all  succeeded  by  greed* 
and  mock  heroics ! " 

"  If  Gould,  Disraeli,  Conkling,  and  Cameron,  are  our 
great  men,  —  shades  of  Caesar  and  Cicero,  Napoleon  and 
Washington,  Shakespeare,  Byron,  and  Burns,  Jefferson 
and  Webster,  Clay  and  Calhoun,  see  how  your  mantles 
have  descended  upon  successful  thimbleriggers  and  span 
gled  mountebanks  !  —  What  ntxt  ?  " 


WO  SHIP  OF  THE  GOLDEN  CALF.        131 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  WORSHIP  OF  THE  GOLDEN  CALF. 

"WHEN  I  see  people,"  continued  Ralph,  "worshipping 
the  golden  calf  General  Conyngham  has  set  up  for  them, 
I  would  not  be  at  all  surprised  to  see  him  succeed  to  his 
father's  senatorial  robes.  He  will  never  startle  the  country 
by  any  great  display  of  intellect  or  solid  worth,  and  he 
will  never  be  able  to  open  his  mouth  on  any  subject,  and 
communicate  anything  to  the  country,  that  could  not  be 
as  well  said  by  any  pawnbroker  or  note-shaver." 

"  I  cannot  understand  why  he  helped  me  in  securing  a 
position  as  he  did,  and  placed  me  in  a  situation  to  claim 
my  advance  from  the  estate,"  said  Larry. 

"  You  may  not  know  now,  but  you  can  rest  assured  that 
even  so  small  a  favor  has  not  been  given  without  some 
ulterior  purpose  in  view.  The  man  never  did,  nor  can  he 
do,  a  disinterested  or  generous  action." 

"  What  do  you  think  of  Littlejohn  as  United  States 
Senator  ?  "  asked  Larry. 

"  Why,  I  think  the  Conynghams  will  have  their  hands 
full  if  they  attempt  to  control  him.  Littlejohn  is  as  nar 
row  and  greedy  for  power  as  Malcolm  Conyngham  is  for 
money ;  and  the  State  is  not  quite  large  enough  to  hold 
both  these  aspiring  gentlemen.  The  former  is  a  good 
lawyer,  but  when  you  say  that,  you  say  all.  As  to  states 
manship,  he  is  too  much  absorbed  in  his  own  greatness  to 
concern  himself  about  his  country's  good.  In  cold 


132  ARMOUR. 

blooded  selfishness  both  he  and  Malcolm  are  very  much 
alike  ;  the  only  difference  I  can  see  between  the  two  men 
is  that  one  has  legal  brains  and  the  other  has  his  father  and 
money.  Littlejohn  is  greedy  for  power,  and  Conyngham 
for  both  power  and  money.  But  as  money  is  power,  it  is 
not  very  safe  to  trust  either  of  them  where  it  is  or  can  be 
made.  Both  will  abuse  power  whenever  it  is  placed  in 
their  hands.  Neither  of  the  men  could  be  elected,  by  the 
real  vote  of  the  people,  to  a  Poor-directorship  in  their  own 
counties." 

"  I  never  knew  you  had  studied  politics  and  politicians 
so  closely,  Ralph." 

"  I  make  no  pretensions  to  being  a  politician,  but  as  a 
citizen  I  claim  the  right  to  freely  discuss  these  men,  and 
their  management  of  public  affairs.  The  masses  of  the 
people  are  honest  in  their  desire  for  an  honest  govern 
ment  ;  and  though  slow  to  become  aroused  to  their  dan 
ger,  when  at  last  forbearance  ceases  to  be  a  virtue,  they 
will  rise  up  in  their  might,  and,  like  the  blind  and  impris 
oned  Sampson,  bring  down  the  temple  upon  themselves 
and  their  enemies." 

"  Like  yourself,  I  am  tired  of  these  men,  or  bosses  as 
you  call  them,  dictating  all  the  nominations,  forcing  their 
tools  on  the  people ;  and  running  the  government  for 
their  own  private  benefit.  But  I  do  not  see  what  the 
people  can  do  to  rid  themselves  of  these  rascals  and  their 
pernicious  system.  Even  the  leaders  of  both  parties  com 
bine  together  against  the  people  when  any  attempt  is 
made  to  crush  them  ;  and  together  they  force  into  obscur 
ity  honest  men  who  really  have  the  interests  of  the  peo 
ple  at  heart,  and  place  in  their  stead  the  most  worthless 
demagogues  in  the  country." 


WORSHIP  OF  THE  GOLDEN  CALF.        133 

"Well,"  interrupted  Ralph  impatiently,  "why  don't  the 
wealthy  and  influential  class  of  people  interest  themselves, 
and  combine  against .  these  men  ?  They  could  soon  make 
themselves  felt  in  politics  if  they  would  only  take  the 
trouble." 

"  You  need  never  expect  this  class  to  bother  themselves 
much  about  politics.  They  have  plenty  of  means  and  can 
invest  in  government  bonds.  They  do  not  care  how  much 
taxation  is  imposed  on  the  people ;  if  they  invest  in 
real  estate  their  tenants  pay  the  additional  tax.  They 
simply  add  it  to  their  rent,  and  the  full  force  of  the  griev 
ance  is  only  felt  by  those  who  are  least  able  to  bear  it. 
To  the  great  middle  class  must  we  look  to  give  us  a 
change.  The  capitalists  and  great  property  holders  are 
naturally  in  favor  of  having  a  strong  centralized  govern 
ment,  and  their  interest,  as  a  rule,  is  directly  opposed  to 
that  of  the  masses  of  the  people,  who  are  jealous  of  put 
ting  any  more  power  into  the  hands  of  the  privileged  class 
than  they  can  possibly  help.  The  corporations  and  the 
capitalists  know  they  can,  by  paying,  have  all  laws  made 
for  their  protection  and  advantage.  It  would  never  suit 
the  railroads,  national  banks,  and  other  great  monopolies 
to  have  honest  men  in  the  legislature,  or  controlling  our 
politics.  And  they  will  support  these  corrupt  leaders  or 
bosses  as  long  as  they  will  protect  their  interests.  Wendell 
Phillips  never  said  a  truer  thing  than  when  he  said  he 
never  knew  of  a  single  reform,  either  moral  or  intellect 
ual,  that  came  down  from,  or  originated  in,  the  upper  classes. 
All  revolutions  started  from  the  poorer  classes." 

"  That  is  true,"  said  Adair  ;  "  but  if  the  wealthy  classes 
will  not  interest  themselves  in  stopping  this  wholesale 
jobbery  and  corruption,  which  all  comes  on  the  poor  men 


134  ARMOUR. 

in  the  end,  upon  whom  can  you  depend  ?  The  poorer 
classes  can  do  nothing.  They  have  to  vote  as  their  land 
lords,  and  employers,  and  bankers  direct.  If  ever  our 
government  becomes  a  monarchy, — *and  it  is  almost  that 
now  in  all  but  name, —  too  much  corporation,  monopoly, 
and  millionaire  railroad  kings,  stock  operators,  and  iron 
masters  and  national  bankers  will  be  the  cause.  Against 
the  immense  combined  wealth  of  corporations  or  monopo 
lies  an  individual  has  about  as  much  chance  to  succeed, 
even  by  the  most  industrious  and  honest  methods,  as  has 
a  dog-cart  in  a  race  with  the  Limited  Express.  This 
ruining  and  crippling  small  business  men  swells  the  dis 
contented  and  idle  class,  and  when  election  time  comes 
around,  these  corporations  and  the  Conynghams  continue 
their  ruinous  work.  They  debauch,  demoralize,  and  buy 
up  the  poor  voters,  or  those  whom  they  have,  by  their  cruel 
system  of  monopoly,  thrown  out  of  work.  Here  is  where 
the  great  danger  lies.  Corporations  and  monopolies  are 
making  communistic  outbreaks  in  the  near  future  more 
possible  than  we  dream  of ;  and  my  only  hope  is  in  the 
intelligence  and  purity  of  purpose  in  our  middle  classes. 
When  they  fully  realize  and  appreciate  the  two  dangerous 
extremes  which  menace  us,  they  will  put  men  in  office 
who  are  free  from  even  the  suspicion  of  affiliation  with  the 
corporation  rings  in  either  party.  It  will  be  their  only 
salvation. 

"  Do  you  know  whether  Littlejohn  is  home  ?  I  must 
see  him  on  some  business  before  I  return  to  Hazleton." 

"  I  think  he  is  not  in  town,  as  I  saw  him  go  to  the  train 
this  afternoon,  carrying  his  satchel.  I  suppose  he  is  look 
ing  up  his  senatorial  prospects.  Are  you  going  back  to 
Hazleton  in  the  morning  ?  " 


WORSHIP  OP  THE  GOLDEN  CALE.      135 

"  Yes,  if  Littlejohn  is  not  at  home ;  "  and  bidding  his 
companion  good-night  Hamilton  started  up  street,  but  was 
unable  to  resist  the  temptation  of  stopping  on  his  way 
home  to  discuss  the  Conyngham  wedding  with  Fanny,  and 
endeavor  to  arrange  his  own. 


136  ARMOUR. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE  CAR   OF  JUGGERNAUT. 

As  Larry  approached  his  office  the  next  morning,  he  saw 
a  crowd  of  men  standing  around  the  building  near  the 
depot.  Amongst  them  was  one  of  the  employees  to  whom 
he  wished  to  speak,  and  passing  through  the  gaping  crowd 
of  idlers,  he  entered  the  building,  where  a  scene  met  his 
gaze  that  for  a  moment,  accustomed  as  he  had  been  to 
the  horrors  of  battle-fields,  fairly  sickened  him.  On 
bloody  stretchers  lay  two  manly  forms,  torn  and  mangled 
in  a  shocking  manner,  but  in  whose  ashy  and  swollen  faces 
he  recognized  an  engineer  and  fireman  with  whom  he  had 
often  conversed.'  Like  most  of  their  class,  they  were 
manly  fellows,  and  their  frank,  honest,  cheery  ways,  had 
attracted  him.  In  the  pockets  of  the  faded  and  begrimed 
overalls  of  the  fireman  was  found  a  bunch  of  keys  and 
seven  cents,  while  in  those  of  the  engineer  was  sixty  cents, 
his  book  of  rules,  and  a  slip  of  paper  which  proved  to  be 
a  letter  which  one  of  the  brakeman  had  found  tightly 
clutched  in  the  dead  man's  hand.  It  was  from  his  little 
girl,  begging  him  to  come  home. 

Hamilton  hurried  from  the  room  with  moistened  eyes. 
What  a  contrast  presented  itself!  Outside,  the  birds  sung 
merrily  in  the  bright  June  sunshine,  and  all  was  life  and 
happiness.  Inside,  was  death,  horror,  and  gloom. 

At  this  moment  a  "  special  "  whirled  by  with  a  director's 
elegant  car  attached,  on  the  platform  of  which  sat  some  of 


THE   CAR   OF  JUGGERNAUT. 

the  officials  of  the  road,  with  their  families,  —  gentlemen 
who,  on  salaries  of  five  thousand  dollars  make  millions  in 
a  few  years.  Fat  terrapin-fed-looking  gentlemen  they 
were,  too,  with  all  the  appearance  of  general  high  living, 
and  of  lives  unmarked  by  care,  and  their  well-dressed  and 
happy-looking  wives  and  daughters  chatted  gayly  to  one 
another  as  they  swept  by. 

"  Ah ! "  sighed  Hamilton,  as  he  thought  of  the  two 
poor  fellows  lying  in  that  room  ;  "  how  different  are  the 
lives  of  these  men  from  those  of  their  employees.  The 
latter  have  all  the  responsibility,  danger,  and  risk,  and  at 
best  can  never  make  anything  but  a  mere  living,  and  fre 
quently  become  a  sacrifice  to  the  greedy  and  heartless 
economy,  which  prompts  the  officials  of  soulless  corpora 
tions  —  all  intent  on  declaring  dividends  —  to  ignore  the 
fact  that  men  are  not  machines." 

As  Larry  sat  in  his  office  musing  over  these  things, 
Smith,  the  dispatcher,  remarked,  "  It  was  a  hard  life  and  a 
cruel  death  for  these  poor  fellows,  Mr.  Hamilton." 

"  Yes,"  replied  Larry,  "  and  they  will  no  doubt  get  all 
the  blame  for  this  accident.  It  is  convenient  to  saddle 
such  responsibilities  on  dead  men." 

"  You  are  right  there ;  "  replied  Smith,  "  and  no  one  will 
ever  think  to  give  these  men  credit  for  the  thousands  of 
trains  they  have  brought  through  safely.  The  conductor 
of  that  train  told  me  that  last  winter  he  often  worked  eigh 
teen  hours  a  day,  and  that  for  a  whole  week  he  never  took 
his  clothes  off  to  sleep.  The  flagman  they  blame  for  this 
accident,  I  know  to  be  an  honest  and  truthful  young  fel 
low,  and  he  told  me  this  morning,  that  this  system  of 
double-heading  was  what  played  the  mischief.  You  see, 
by  double-heading  I  mean  the  putting  of  two  trains  to 
gether  and  two  engines  in  front.  By  running  both  under 


138  ARMOUR. 

one  conductor,  and  one  set  of  brakemen  and  flagmen,  they 
save  the  extra  amount  of  wages.  It  just  doubles  the 
work  and  responsibility.  I  do  not  wonder  that  when 
nearly  worked  out  they  can  scarcely  keep  from  dropping 
off  in  a  doze  on  duty.  I  only  wonder  that  there  are  not 
more  accidents  than  there"  are.  I  have  known  these  men 
to  do  this  on  terribly  cold  winter  nights  when  it  was  as 
much  as  a  man's  life  was  worth  to  stay  out  an  hour." 

"  Don't  they  pay  them  extra  for  such  work  or  let  them 
lay  off  for  a  few  days  after  it,"  asked  Hamilton  ? 

Smith  looked  up  in  surprise.  "I  guess  not;  and  if  the 
least  complaint  comes  from  them,  they  are  discharged  at 
once.  If  killed,  after  having  served  the  company  a  life 
time,  their  families  can  get  along  the  best  way  possible. 
The  company  generally  buries  them  and  probably  gives 
the  widow  a  few  hundred  dollars.  But  what  is  that  to  a 
woman  with  a  family  of  children  to  feed  and  clothe?" 

"  We  used  to  think  discipline  in  the  army  strict,"  said 
Hamilton ;  "  but  after  a  year's  railroading  I  have  concluded 
that  there  is  as  much,  if  not  more,  unnecessary  official 
tyranny  under  these  corporations  than  under  the  most 
rigid  of  martinets  in  the  army,  and  far  less  regard  for  the 
comfort  and  welfare  of  the  men.  I  only  wonder  that  so 
many  men  can  be  found  to  work  at  the  small  salaries  they 
pay.  It  is  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  privation,  danger 
and  risk  they  run." 

"  The  trouble  is,"  said  Smith,  "  that  there  are  always 
about  twenty  men  waiting  for  every  vacancy,  and  knowing 
this,  railroad  officials  are  very  independent.  While  the 
directors  and  officers  of  the  road  and  the  company  make 
more  money  now  than  ever,  their  employees  and  the  public 
do  not  share  in  their  prosperity." 

"  It  is  not  only  in  railroad  circles  that  the  evil  influence 


THE  CAR  OF  JUGGERNAUT.  139 

of  monopoly  is  felt,"  replied  Hamilton,  "  but  the  same 
grasping  spirit  seems  to  be  extending  itself  into  all  kinds 
of  business.  The  capitalists  of  the  country  combine  to 
gether,  and  have  laws  passed  by  which  they  obtain  entire 
advantage  over  the  laboring  classes,  and  which,  under  the 
constitution,  they  have  no  right  to  ask  for  nor  obtain,  as 
these  so-called  laws  are  directly  inimical  to  the  interests 
of  the  people.  This  evil  has  become  so  great,  that,  unless 
some  remedy  is  soon  found,  I  believe  there  will  be  trouble. 
It  may  be  a  peaceable  revolution,  and  I  hope  it  will  be  ; 
but  it  is  the  irrepressible  conflict  between  Monopoly  and 
the  People." 

"  Why,  you  do  not  think  we  are  going  to  have  a  French 
Revolution,  do  you  ?  "  asked  Mr.  Lennox,  who  had  been 
standing  near  his  assistant. 

"  History  repeats  itself,"  replied  Hamilton,  "  and  while 
you  may  call  me  an  alarmist,  the  country  just  now  reminds 
me  of  France  in  1793.  Every  department  of  the  Govern 
ment  seems  to  be  reeking  with  corruption.  Infidelity  and 
scepticism  flourish  and  are  fashionable.  Men  seem  no 
longer  to  regard  religion  with  the  old-time  reverence ; 
while  every  one  is  bent  on  making  money,  regardless  of  the 
manner  in  which  it  is  made.  The  privileged  few  monop 
olize,  not  only  the  government  but,  under  the  name  of  a 
corporation,  are  draining  all  the  wealth  of  the  country, 
while  the  toiling  masses  are  struggling  for  a  bare  suste 
nance.  What  we  call  communism,  to-day,  is  looked  upon 
now  very  much,  I  suppose,  as  it  was  at  the  time  of  the  cry 
of  '  Liberty,  fraternity,  and  equality.'  Every  one  seems  to 
have  lost  faith  in  the  old  order  of  things.  We  are  like 
men  groping  in  the  dark.  Not  only  here,  but  in  Russia, 
Germany,  England,  Ireland,  Spain,  and  France ;  all  over 
Europe  can  be  heard  the  minor  mutterings  of  the  coming 


140  ARMOUR. 

storm.  I  believe  that  our  only  salvation,  so  far,  has  been 
owing  to  our  large  territory  as  compared  to  our  population. 
When  we  become  crowded,  look  out  for  trouble.  The 
country  is  filling  up  very  rapidly  and  the  day  of  trouble 
may  not  be  far  off." 

The  superintendent  of  the  road  at  this  moment  entered, 
and  the  conversation  was  interrupted. 

A  PARAPHRASE. 

It  is  a  wild,  stormy  night, 

As  an  engineer  sits  by  his  throbbing  engine, 

In  his  cabin,  awaiting  the  lightning  express. 

The    dim-light  gloams  and  flickers  on  the  sheet 

Of  a  rustling  paper  that,  with  eager  eyes 

And  heart,  intent  he  reads.     Now,  with  a  smile 

The  brave,  manly  face,  lights  up  — 

A  smile  that,  e'en  in  the  smiling,  breeds  a  pain 

Within  his  yearning  heart :  the  little  hand 

That  those  sweet  loving  words  hath  traced,  will  he 

Ever  again  in  his  protecting  clasp 

Enfold  it  ?    Who  can  tell  ?     He  can  but  kiss, 

With  loving  heart,  the  page  that  hand 

Hath  touched.    Each  line,  each  word  read  and  re-read ; 

At  last  there  is  no  more.    With  swimming  eyes 

He  sees  those  lines,  with  pencil  widely  ruled, 

Where  largely  sprawl  big  letters  helplessly; 

What  do  they  say,  those  baby  characters, 

So  feebly  huge  ? 

"  Loved  papa, 

When  will  you  come  home  again  ? 

My  own  dear  papa  1 " 

As  he  reads  the  cabin  grows  darker, 
His  strong  hand  trembles,  and  the  hot  tears  burn 
In  his  blue  eyes,  and  blur  the  straggling  words. 
What  need  to  see  ?    The  words  are  stamped  upon 
His  heart,  and  his  whole  soul  doth  feel  them  there. 
The  wind  on  gusty  wings  sweeps  by,  and  to  I 


THE  CAR  OF  JUGGERNAUT.  141 

With  its  wild  voice,  his  child's  sweet  treble  mingles 
In  accents  faintly  clear  : 

"  Loved  papa, 

When  will  you  come  home  again  ? 

My  own  dear  papa  1 " 

And  now  his  head  is  bowed  into  his  hands, 

His  brave  heart  for  a  moment  seems  to  climb 

Into  his  throat  and  choke  him.     Hark  1  what  sound 

Thus  sharply  leaps  amongst,  and  slays  the  sad 

Wind-voices  of  the  solemn  night,  with  shrill 

And  sudden  blast  ?     Down  brakes  I    Down  brakes  I  Quick  I 

The  startled  man,  at  the  fierce  appeals, 

Half  dreaming,  clutches  the  lever  : 

The  fireman,  gasping,  wakes,  and  pale  as  death, 

Peers  wildly  forth,  and  sees,  O,  horror  I 

The  lightning  express  upon  them. 

My  God !  the  switch  is  wrong  I  he  shrieks, 

And  on  that  father's  breast  the  pealing  cry, 

Strikes  cold  as  death,  though  engineer  none's  braver, 

And  still  above  the  awful  crash, 

His  pleading  child's  voice  sweetly  calls, 

"  Loved  papa, 

When  will  you  come  home  again  ? 

My  own  dear  papa  1 " 

Across  a  rough  hillside  the  light  of  dawn 

Doth  coldly  creep,  with  ruthless  touch  revealing 

All  that  by  darkness  had  been  hid;  and  there, 

Two  mangled,  stalwart  forms,  stiffening  lie 

Upon  the  blood-soaked  ground,  where  the  wreck  lies  thickest. 

Dark  dyed  with  gore,  in  the  dead  man's  hand  was  clutched 

A  crumpled  paper,  'gainst  the  cold  lips  the  rigid  hand  did  press 

Some  childish  writing,  by  his  life  blood  stained. 

What  are  the  words  ?,  One  scarce  can  read  them  now : 

"Loved  papa, 

When  will  you  come  home  again  ? 

My  own  dear  papa  1 " 


142  ARMOUR. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

HON.   JOHN    LITTLEJOHN. 

OWING  to  circumstances  beyond  the  control  of  the  Cony- 
nghams,  Littlejohn  was  selected  by  this  corporation  as 
their  candidate  for  United  States  Senator,  and,  with  their 
accustomed  shrewdness  and  cunning,  on  finding  he  was 
to  be  the  choice  of  the  company,  and  that  the  people  fa 
vored  him,  both  father  and  son  united  in  assisting  him 
with  an  assumed  cheerfulness  they  were  far  from  feeling. 

Every  man,  woman,  and  child  in  Armour  was  wild  with 
delight  at  the  unexpected  honor  thus  conferred  upon  the 
town,  and  gray-haired,  dignified,  old  citizens,  vied  with 
the  noisiest  urchin  on  the  street  in  their  joyous  demon 
strations,  and  congratulations  of  this,  the  greatest  man 
Armour  had  ever  produced.  All  confidently  predicted  a 
purer  and  nobler  order  of  statesmanship,  and  prophesied 
the  breaking  up  of  the  corrupt  and  thieving  gang  of  pub 
lic  plunderers  who  had  so  long  been  fastened  on  the  peo 
ple.  Others,  still  more  enthusiastic,  expressed  their  firm 
belief  that  Littlejohn  would  most  certainly  be  the  next 
president.  Bonfires  were  lighted  all  over  the  town,  and 
the  village  brass  band  of  six  pieces  paraded  the  streets, 
frantically  discoursing  patrioticairs,  and  finally  wound  up, 
in  front  of  the  senator's  modest  mansion,  with  "  Hail  to 
the  Chief !  "  Flickering  torches  illuminated  the  enthusi 
astic  scene,  and  the  crowd  loudly  called  for  "  Littlejohn  I 
Littlejohn  I  " 


HON.  JOHN  LITTLEJOHN.  143 

As  the  bald-headed  little  gentleman  appeared  on  the 
portico  and  made  his  bow,  he  was  greeted  with  the 
most  deafening  cheers,  while  the  band  played  "  Lo !  the 
conquering  hero  comes."  Hats  were  swung  high  in  the 
air,  while  the  band,  carried  away  by  the  greatness  of 
their  distinguished  fellow-citizen,  and  utterly  regardless  of 
the  eternal  fitness  of  things,  quickly  changed  the  tune  to 
"Lannagan's  Ball." 

As  the  inspiring  strains  of  the  gay  Hibernian  tune 
stirred  the  night  air  with  its  quick,  dancing  music,  the 
crowd,  no  longer  able  to  control  themselves,  madly 
danced  an  Irish  jig. 

Staid  and  dignified  lawyers  and  bankers  participated 
in  the  delirious  hilarity  of  the  occasion,  while  the  young 
and  excitable  minister,  wild  with  the  thought  of  having 
his  leading  elder  in  the  councils  of  the  nation,  and  — 
in  the  excitement  of  the  moment  —  forgetting  all  social 
distinction,  encircled  the  little  butcher  with  his  arms,  and 
the  two  danced  a  jig  with  a  vim  and  agility  that  would 
have  shamed  Barney  Williams  in  his  palmiest  days. 

Shoemakers,  editors,  and  lawyers,  embraced  one  another, 
while  one  old,  dignified,  and  aristocratic  ex-banker,  and 
his  friend, — who  fondly  imagined  himself  the  leading  at 
torney  of  Armour,  and  of  both  of  whom  it  could  be  truly 
said  that  when  they  died  wisdom  would  die  with  them,  — 
completely  overcome  by  their  feelings,  could  do  nothing 
but  sit  down  on  the  curbstone,  with  hats  off,  laughing  and 
crying  alternately. 

In  vain  did  the  great  man  endeavor  to  speak,  as  the 
rest  of  his  large  family,  like  that  of  the  famed  John  Rog 
ers  of  Smithfield  memory,  "  wildly  waved  their  handker 
chiefs  from  as  many  different  windows,  fondly  believing 
that  they  were  now  all  senators." 


144  ARMOUR. 

But  alas !     That  there  should  be  a  serpent  in  Eden. 

"  Every  one  of  these  fellows  are  expecting  at  the  hands 
of  Littlejohn  an  office,"  said  a  dark-looking  individual 
with  a  sinister  squint,  who  was  standing  on  the  outer  edge 
of  the  crowd,  to  his  companion,  Mr.  Fox,  "  and  they  will 
be  d  d  badly  disappointed,  every  man  of  them,  or  I 
have  studied  Littlejohn  to  no  purpose.  You  will  see  the 
day  when  they  will  all  be  cursing  and  hooting  him."  The 
speaker  had  restless,  hungry-looking  little  green  eyes,  and  no 
other  word  but  satanic  would  describe  the  expression  of  his 
countenance  — a  countenance  hideous  in  its  expression  of 
deep  depravity,  and  seamed  with  the  hard  lines  of  a  life 
time  devoted  to  the  gratification  of  evil  propensities. 
Treachery  and  malice  were  written  in  every  feature,  yet 
playing  beneath  was  a  vein  of  latent  humor,  shrewdness, 
and  more  than  ordinary  intelligence,  apparent  to  those 
who  studied  the  face  closely. 

This  was  Mr.  Goforhim,  editor  of  the  "  Armour  Argus," 
a  vile  little  sheet,  which,  vulture-like,  fattened  on  the 
spoils  of  party  strife,  and  on  money  wrung  from  the  pock 
ets  of  timid  aspirants  for  political  honors,  who,  dreading 
the  unscrupulous  and  filthy  pen  of  its  editor,  encouraged 
him  in  his  despicable  trade  of  black-mailing,  either  by 
purchasing  immunity  from  his  indecent  assaults,  or  by 
hiring  him  to  blackguard  or  abuse  their  opponents.  A 
keen  observer  of  men  was  Goforhim,  and  especially 
quick  in  detecting  their  weak  points.  Aware  of  Little- 
John's  narrow  and  tyrannical  nature,  love  of  power,  and 
perfect  contempt  for  the  people,  he  felt  confident  that 
public  life  would  soon  develop  a  character  in  Littlejohn 
that  would  very  much  surprise  those  who  had  hither 
to  been  warm  admirers  of  the  man,  and  who  labored 
under  the  erroneous  impression  that  they  knew  him 
thoroughly. 


HON.  JOHN  LITTLEJOHN.  145 

"  Why,  Goforhim,  what  reason  have  you  for  thinking 
so  ?  "  replied  Mr.  Fox. 

"  Reasons  ?  Plenty  of  them.  That  man  cares  no  more 
for  these  people,  than  for  so  many  dogs,  and  looks  on 
us  all  in  about  that  light.  After  the  first  flush  of  vic 
tory,  and  when  he  has  become  accustomed  to  the  excite 
ment,  and  the  novelty  of  the  situation,  Littlejohn  will 
miss  all  this  fuss  and  flattery.  He  loves  it  like  a  cat 
does  milk,  and  cannot  well  exist  without  this  constant 
and  sickening  adulation.  No  flattery  is  too  gross  for 
him,  and  those  who  can  pour  it  on  the  thickest,  and 
bow  the  knee  the  suppliest,  will  be  the  men  to  whom 
he  will  dispense  his  favors,  and  with  whom  he  will  sur 
round  himself.  He  will  take  no  advice  from  any  one  and 
will  run  things  to  suit  himself,  and  allow  no  one  else  in 
the  State  to  have  a  word  to  say  :  that  will  not  suit  the 
Conynghams.  At  home  he  will  punish  every  man  who 
has  ever  opposed  him,  and  as  he  ran  twice  for  Congress, 
and  hardly  received  a  corporal's  guard  of  votes  either 
time,  there  will  be  a  heavy  score  to  settle  with  those 
who  failed  to  appreciate  his  eminently  Christian  char 
acter,  or  neglected  to  recognize  his  transcendent  genius." 

"Don't  you  think  he  will  be  able  to  rise  above  all 
these  little  grudges  ? "  asked  the  soporific  Fox,  in  his 
most  blandly  mellifluous  tones.  "  Why,  in  his  prayers 
he  makes  a  specialty  of  the  forgiveness  of  our  enemies." 

"When  he  once  gets  them  in  his  power  he  will  make 
a  specialty  of  punishing  his,"  said  Goforhim. 

"  I  suppose,"  rejoined   Fox,  "  that  he  will  reorganize 

the  political  machinery  of  the  country,  and  put    new  men 

in  the  place  of  the  old  ones,  as  nearly  all  were  opposed  to 

his  being  made  senator." 

"Yes,  you  may  depend  upon  that.     There  will  be  a  clean- 


146  ARMOUR. 

ing  out  of  the  Augean  stables  and  a  new  deal,  and  the 
most  servile  and  obsequious  lackeys  will  be  put  in  their 
places." 

"  Well,  I  guess  if  he  attempts  that  game  you  and  I  will 
attend  to  him  "  chuckled  Fox,  as  the  band  ceased  playing. 

The  crowd  having  completely  exhausted  themselves,  be 
came  comparatively  quiet,  as  the  Hon.  John  Littlejohn, 
with  a  deprecatory  wave  of  the  hand  towards  a  group  of 
small  boys  on  the  outskirts  of  the  crowd,  endeavored  to 
make  himself  heard. 

At  last  "  order  reigned  in  Warsaw,"  and  the  Honorable 
John  proceeded  as  follows : 

"  My  dear  friends,  fellow-citizens,  and  neighbors  :  To 
you  alone  am  I  indebted  for  this  high  honor,  and  you  will 
believe  me  sincere  when  I  say  that  this  grand  demonstra 
tion,  significant  of  your  endorsement  of  my  political  ca 
reer,  has  given  me  more  pleasure  than  my  elevation  to  the 
United  States  Senate. 

"  That  I  have  not  sought  this  honor  you  all  well  know, 
and  that  I  sacrifice  large  business  and  professional  inter 
ests  you  are  also  well  aware.  But  I  am  glad  to  be  selected 
as  the  standard-bearer  by  the  people,  for  the  inauguration 
of  a  new  order  of  things.  The  corruption  and  venality 
that  have  hitherto  disgraced  our  national  affairs,  and  de 
graded  the  politics  of  our  country,  shall  in  me  always  find 
an  inveterate  foe.  I  shall  not,  like  some  people,  forget 
the  interests  of  my  people,  and  give  all  my  time  and  at 
tention  to  my  own  personal  advancement.  Neither  shall 
I  drag  my  high  office  down  into  the  dirty  mire  of  local 
political  stri/e,  nor  use  it  as  the  means  of  rewarding  friends, 
or  in  punishing  those  who  imagine  themselves  my  enemies, 
or  think  I  feel  unkindly  disposed  towards  them.  The  fact 
of  the  office  having  sought  me,  and  not  me  the  office, 


THE  HON.  JOHN  LITTLEJOHN.          147 

places  me  in  a  position  where  I  can  act  independently  and 
conscientiously.  I  am  under  no  obligations  to  any  clique 
or  faction  for  my  elevation  to  this  high  office,  but  to  the 
express  wishes  and  demands  of  the  people,  who  desire  a 
change  in  the  manner  of  dispensing  political  favors,  and 
who  wish  to  see  a  different  state  of  affairs  inaugurated — a 
new  era  of  reform  ;  an  eagle  eye  to  be  kept  on  those  men 
who  have  prostituted  their  high  offices  for  furthering  the 
interests  of  themselves  and  their  families  at  the  expense 
of  the  public.  Rest  assured,  my  fellow  citizens,  that  in 
me  shall  this  disgraceful  nepotism,  which  has  marked  the 
course  of  some  of  our  statesmen,  always  find  a  stern 
opponent.  No  member  of  my  family  shall  advance  their 
private  fortunes  through  virtue  of  my  being  in  the  United 
States  Senate.  I  do  not  look  upon  these  offices  as  gifts 
to  be  distributed  amongst  friends  and  relations,  but  to  be 
given  to  the  most  deserving  and  patriotic  of  those  men 
who  fought  for  and  preserved  to  us  our  liberties.  From 
amongst  these  men  shall  I  invariably  make  my  appoint 
ments,  and  not  from  amongst  the  politicians,  or  my  own 
relations  or  personal  friends.  I  believe  thoroughly  in 
civil  service  reform,  and,  with  God's  help,  I  shall  endeavor 
to  do  my  duty  without  fear  or  favor.  Thanking  you  all 
for  this  kind  demonstration,  I  bid  you  good  night." 

After  this  little  speech,  the  Honorable  John  went  through 
the  trying  ordeal  of  hand-shaking,  as  the  crowd  gradually 
dispersed  to  their  homes. 


148  ARMOUR. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

SAVE  ME   FROM   MY   FRIENDS. 

HAMILTON  had  fulfilled  all  the  conditions  required  in 
his  father's  will,  and  could  now  claim  his  advance  from 
the  estate  ;  but  fearing  that  Littlejohn,  as  was  his  custom, 
might  refuse  it  on  some  quibble,  he  patiently  awaited  a 
favorable  opportunity  before  introducing  the  subject. 

The  day  following  his  elevation  to  the  Senate  he  con 
cluded  would  be  an  opportune  time  to  submit  the  matter 
to  him,  as  in  all  probability  the  Honorable  Littlejohn 
might  not  soon  again  feel  so  benevolently  disposed  towards 
all  mankind.  After  congratulating  the  honorable  gentleman, 
the  morning  following  the  meeting,  and  making  known  his 
request,  he  was  not  surprised  at  receiving  his  funds. 

The  world  now  lay  bright  before  him.  Engaged  to  one 
of  the  most  sensible  and  one  of  the  prettiest  girls  in 
Armour,  bright  and  ambitious,  with  the  good  wishes  of 
all  who  knew  him,  Hamilton,  was  brimming  over  with 
his  good  fortune,  and,  unlike  his  friend  Conyngham, 
wanted  every  one  to  feel  as  happy  as  himself.  The  first 
thing  he  did  was  to  pay  off  all  his  debts,  which  were  not 
.inconsiderable.  Most  of  them  had  been  contracted  in 
his  minority,  a  fact  which,  so  far  from  suggesting  the 
shirking  of  them,  to  his  credit  be  it  said,  was  only  a 
stronger  incentive  to  their  payment. 

What  should  he  now  do  with  his  capital  was  the  all-ab 
sorbing  question  with  him,  and  how  should  he  invest  it  ? 


SA  VE  ME  FROM  MY  FRIENDS.          149 

To  remain  on  the  railroad  in  a  subordinate  position  did 
not  suit  one  of  his  means,  independent  spirit,  and  active 
temperament.  The  restraints  of  the  position,  and  the  airs 
of  insolent  authority  he  was  compelled  to  endure  from 
the  higher  officials,  were  not  pleasant  to  one  unaccustomed 
to  submitting  to  them.  It  was  one  of  those  momentous 
periods  in  a  man's  life  when  the  next  step  either  makes 
or  mars  his  future. 

With  no  kind  and  experienced  friend  to  advise  him, 
what  should  he  do  ?  He  could  not  go  to  Littlejohn,  to 
ask  his  advice,  for  that  gentleman,  even  if  he  had  been  on 
terms  which  would  have  justified  it,  although  a  good  law 
yer,  had  never  been  successful  in  financial  investments, 
and  had,  indeed,  often  confessed  that  he  had  never  suc 
ceeded  in  making  any  money  outside  of  his  profession. 

Larry,  notwithstanding  Ralph's  suspicions  that  Conyng- 
ham  had  had  some  selfish  motive  in  giving  him  his  posi 
tion,  still  retained  his  faith  in  him  as  a  friend,  and  as  the 
latter  was  well  versed  in  business  affairs,  and  had  been 
very  successful  in  all  his  large  enterprises,  he  concluded 
that  his  best  and  safest  course  was  to  consult  him. 

"Well,  Larry,  what  is  up  now  ?  "  asked  Conyngham,  im 
patiently  and  rather  brusquely,  as  Hamilton  entered  his 
friend's  office  one  morning. 

Larry  had  noticed  of  late  an  impatience  and  supercili 
ousness  in  Conyngham's  manner,  which  at  times  made 
him  uncomfortable,  but  he  attributed  the  cause  entirely  to 
preoccupation  and  the  worry  of  extensive  business  — 
never  dreaming  for  a  moment  that  unless  Conyngham 
could  make  something  out  of  his  friends,  they  bored 
him. 

"  I  thought  if  you  were  not  too  busy  I  would  like  to  see 
you  on  some  business,"  said  Hamilton. 


150  ARMOUR. 

A  slight  frown  for  a  moment  clouded  the  face  of  Con- 
yngham.  He  was  afraid  every  one  who  approached  him 
might  want  some  favor  of  him. 

"  Mr.  Littlejohn,"  continued  Larry,  "paid  over,  yester 
day,  one-half  of  my  principal,  and  I  desire  to  change  some 
of  the  securities  and  make  other  investments,  and  not 
knowing  of  any  one  in  whose  advice  I  have  more  confi 
dence  than  your  own,  I  concluded  to  call  and  see  you.  I 
would  like  very  much  to  put  it  into  some  regular  busi 
ness,  and  you  have  many  opportunities  of  seeing  places 
where  there  might  be  good  openings." 

Conyngham's  manner  changed  at  once  and  in  a  few 
minutes  he  was  very  sociable.  "  You  wish  to  make  an  in 
vestment,  do  you  ?  Well,  my  advice  just  now  would  be  to 
keep  your  position  for  the  present,  and  put  your  money 
out  at  a  good  rate  of  interest,  and  wait  awhile.  If  I  see  a 
good  chance  for  getting  you  into  some  good  business  I  will 
advise  you.  A  few  friends  of  mine  are  going  into  a  little 
stock  arrangement  that  I  think  will  prove  very  profitable. 
If  you  would  like  to  try  your  fortune  in  some  operation  of 
that  kind  with  the  rest  of  us,  I  think  you  will  make  some 
thing  handsome." 

"  I  don't  care  much  about  going  into  that  kind  of  busi 
ness,"  replied  Larry. 

*'  It  is  an  entirely  private  arrangement  There  are  only 
two  or  three  persons  besides  myself,  —  all  directors  of  the 
road,  —  and  if  you  are  willing  to  depend  upon  my  judg 
ment  and  go  in,  you  will  certainly  make  some  money,  but 
if  you  do,  you  must  distinctly  understand  it  is  a  strictly 
confidential  matter." 

"I  don't  think  you  ever  knew  me  to  betray  either  a  secret 
or  a  friend  in  my  life,  — did  you  ?  " 

Conyngham   gave   an    almost   imperceptible   start  and 


SAVE  ME  FROM  MY  FRIENDS.        151 

looked  searchingly  in  his  friend's  face  as  he  continued, 
"  We  have  a  little  branch  road  — the  N.  and  B.  —  running 
into  an  undeveloped  coal  and  lumber  region,  and  it  is  the 
intention  of  our  road  to  lease  it  and  extend  it  into  this 
region.  There  is  hardly  any  of  the  stock  to  be  had  just 
now.  We  are  keeping  the  negotiations  very  quiet,  for  if  it 
once  gets  out  that  we  are  contemplating  such  a  move  it 
would  run  the  stock  up  on  us  at  once." 

"  What  effect  will  this  lease  have  on  the  stock  when 
consummated  and  made  public  ?  "  inquired  Hamilton. 

"  It  will  bounce  at  once  to  par.  It  is  now  selling  at 
about  forty-nine  a  share." 

"  Is  the  stock  on  the  market  ?  " 

"No.  As  those  who  hold  it  know  its  future  value,  it  is 
mostly  in  the  hands  of  private  parties,  but  I  can  put  you 
on  the  track  of  a  party  from  whom  you  may  likely  get 
some.  Do  you  know  the  firm  of  I.  N.  Morse  &  Co.,  on 
Wall  street?" 

"No,  I  do  not,"  replied  Hamilton.  "I  have  never  had 
any  acquaintance  with  brokers  in  New  York,  or  anywhere 
else." 

"  Well,  you  go  and  see  Morse  himself.  I  will  give  you 
a  letter  to  him,  and  he  may  possibly,  in  a  short  time, 
pick  up  some  for  you.  My  advice  is  to  take  all  you  can 
get.  You  won't  have  such  another  opportunity  to  make 
money  in  a  life-time." 

The  N.  and  B.  was  a  round-about  route  to  a  denuded 
timber  country,  in  the  northern  part  of  the  state,  and  a 
branch  of  the  road  nominally  owned  and  controlled  by 
the  Conyngham's.  It  had  been  built  many  years  ago,  by 
a  few  wealthy  speculators  in  the  heart  of  a  rich  lumber 
country,  and  had  for  a  while  paid  handsomely.  But  the 
timber  had  for  years  been  cut  off  for  many  miles  around, 


152  ARMOUR. 

and  a  rival  route  had  succeeded  in  rendering  the  N.  and 
B.  practically  worthless,  although  the  local  traffic  through 
the  thinly  settled  region  nearly  paid  expenses.  Conyng- 
ham,  and  several  of  his  friends  amongst  the  directors  of 
the  main  road,  conceived  the  idea  of  buying  up  all  the 
stock  which  was  then  selling  for  a  mere  song,  and  of  put 
ting  it  on  the  market  at  a  high  figure,  in  the  way  familiar 
with  such  operations,  whispers  of  coal  having  been  found 
near  the  road,  and  rumors  of  a  proposed  lease  of  the  N. 
and  B.  by  Conyngham's  company,  were  industriously  circu 
lated  after  these  gentlemen  had  secured  all  the  stock  they 
desired. 

Men  with  plenty  of  means,  and  ignorant  of  ways  that 
are  dark  and  the  modus  operandi  of  railroad  stock  manipula 
tions,  were  given  points  in  the  same  manner,  and  having,  as 
they  thought,  ground-floor  information,  bought  largely. 

It  was  considered  a  fair  and  legitimate  business  opera 
tion  by  these  men,  and  while  the  public  looked  on  and 
faintly  condemned  the  morality  of  such  transactions.  If 
they  proved  successful  the  originators  of  the  scheme  were 
set  down  as  splendid  business  men  and  shrewd  fellows, 
while  the  victims  were  good-naturedly  looked  upon  as 
fools. 

Hamilton  could  never  have  been  deceived  or  duped  by  a 
stranger,  but  his  confidence  in  Conyngham  was  unbounded^ 
and  amounted  almost  to  an  infatuation.  Having  already 
befriended  him,  Larry  would  have  scouted  the  bare  idea 
<>f  any  treachery  on  Conyngham's  part  towards  him.  Blind 
ly,  and  with  perfect  faith  in  his  friend's  sincerity,  he  took 
his  advice,  and  risked  a  large  sum  of  money  —  equal 
to  one-half  the  advance  paid  over  to  him  by  Littlejohn, 
for  which  he  had  been  waiting  for  years,  of  which  he  had 
dreamed  as  the  foundation  of  a  magnificent  fortune  and 


SA  VE  ME  FROM  MY  FRIENDS.          153 

the  stepping  stones  to  influence  and  power.  With  it  he 
had  no  fears  but  that  he  would  yet  show  the  world  and 
Littlejohn,  that  he  was  capable  of  making  his  way. 

Alas,  Larry  had  no  idea  of  that  hardening  of  heart  and 
searing  of  conscience  that  years  spent  in  the  pursuit  of 
riches  give,  nor  of  that  selfishness  and  cold  indifference 
to  the  welfare  of  others,  which  the  process  of  accumulation 
naturally  entails. 

Nothing  more  quickly  saps  and  dries  up  all  the  foun 
tains  of  human  sympathy  and  manly  generosity  of  charac 
ter,  than  the  eager  thirst  for  gain,  and  the  hard,  grinding 
process  of  hoarding  up  money. 

After  Hamilton  left,  Conyngham  sat  down  and  wrote  to 
his  bankers  —  Morse  &  Co. — to  the  effect  that  a  gentle 
man  would  call  on  them  in  a  few  days,  who  was  interested  in 
N.  and  B.  stock,  and  to  sell  him  all  he  desired  of  his  stock 
at  from  forty-five  to  fifty.  Conyngham  had  purchased 
most  of  his  stock  at  various  times  at  from  six  to  fifteen  dol 
lars  per  share. 


154  ARMOUR. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

THE    MAELSTROM. 

THE  wind  blew  a  hurricane,  and  the  rain  descended  in 
torrents,  as  Larry  stepped  from  the  dripping  cars  in  the 
Jersey  city  depot,  a  few  days  after  his  interview  with 
Conyngham.  He  walked  through  the  ferry-house  and  on 
board  the  boat  with  a  light,  quick  step,  and  a  high  heart, 
utterly  indifferent  to  the  gloomy  weather  without. 

The  exultation  of  his  mind  prevented  his  noticing  the 
violence  of  the  storm,  —  so  much  does  one's  mental  state 
control  and  color  his  views  of  external  things.  He  was 
on  the  eve  of  making  a  handsome  little  fortune,  about  to 
be  married  to  a  young  girl  who  was  as  good  as  she  was 
beautiful,  his  debts  all  paid,  in  perfect  health,  in  the  prime 
of  fresh  young  manhood,  with  plenty  of  money  ;  everything 
looked  bright,  and  he  enjoyed  the  storm. 

As  he  entered  the  cabin  and  seated  himself,  he  saw  near 
him  a  wan,  wretched,  sickly-looking  woman,  nursing  a  baby 
scarcely  a  month  old,  and  a  little  girl  about  three  years  of 
age  clung  to  the  mother's  soaked  and  dripping  gown,  sob 
bing  as  if  her  heart  was  breaking.  The  miserable  group 
were  drenched  to  the  skin,  and  the  sorrowful  face  of  the 
mother,  and  the  pinched,  helpless,  half-starved  faces  of  all 
three,  were  more  than  Larry  could  endure.  Quietly  reach 
ing  in  his  pocket,  he  slipped  a  bill  into  the  woman's  hand, 
and  disappeared  amongst  the  bustling  throng  of  passengers. 

As  Hamilton  walked  to  the  fore  part  of  the  boat,  and 


THE  MAELSTROM.  155 

stood  gripsack  in  hand,  looking  pensively  out  of  a  cabin 
window.  The  rain  dashed  furiously  against  the  panes  and 
rolled  down  in  little  rivulets.  Saucy  little  crafts  could  be 
seen  on  the  turbulent  river,  flying  before  the  storm  and 
scattering  the  foam  from  their  sharp  prows,  while  two 
plucky  little  steam  tugs  were  frantically  puffing  and  push 
ing  a  huge  and  helpless  ocean  steamer  into  her  dock.  'As 
he  watched  these  energetic  Lilliputians  and  their  great 
helpless  charge,  he  thought  how  much  they  were  like  their 
human  prototypes,  those  fussy,  active,  shallow  little  fel 
lows,  in  the  narrow  and  tortuous  windings  and  channels  of 
trade  and  of  political  life.  Where  deeper  and  more  thought 
ful  minds  would  fail,  the  very  diminutiveness  of  their  men 
tal  caliber  enabled  them  to  grasp  the  petty  details  of  trade 
and  local  politics,  unlike  more  stable  and  thoughtful  minds, 
who  looked  forward  beyond  the  hour.  They  thought  only 
of  the  present,  and  could  quickly  adapt  themselves  to  cir 
cumstances,  and  go  where  they  pleased,  either  forward  or 
back,  without  any  loss  of  dignity,  charges  of  inconsistency, 
or  danger.  Broader  and  deeper  minds  would  float  help 
lessly  at  the  mercy  of  their  insignificant  rivals,  — the 
more  shallow  crafts  who  remained  in  safe  harbors  and 
close  to  the  shore. 

The  Leviathans  sailed  majestically  and  safely  on  the 
ocean,  and  laughed  derisively  at  storms  which  would  have 
blown  their  miniature  rivals  into  ribbons. 

As  the  ferry-boat  swayed  against  the  dock,  the  sharp 
clink,  clink,  of  the  wheel  and  chain  gave  the  usual  signal 
for  the  crowd  to  collect  on  the  bow  of  the  boat,  each  pas 
senger  eager  to  be  the  first  on  shore,  like  all  impatient 
New  York  crowds. 

"  Why,  Mr.  Hamilton,  is  this  you  !  This  is  certainly  an 
unexpected  pleasure."  Quickly  turning,  to  his  surprise, 


156  ARMOUR. 

was  Fannie's  friend,  Miss  Emory,  and  a  gentlemen  whom 
she  at  once  introduced  as  her  husband,  Mr.  Renshaw. 

The  gentlemen  bowed  pleasantly  and  shook  hands,  evi 
dently  much  pleased. 

Mr.  Renshaw  was  a  fine-looking  man  with  a  good,  hon 
est  face,  and  with  a  gentle  and  almost  timid  manner. 

u  Come  and  see  us  at  the  Hoffman  House.  We  will  be 
there  for  several  days.  Will  you,  Mr.  Hamilton  ?  "  asked 
Mrs.  Renshaw,  as  her  husband  closed  the  door  of  the 
coupt. 

"  I  shall  be  happy  to  do  so,"  said  Hamilton  as  the  car 
riage  drove  off. 

"  Renshaw  !  Renshaw  !  Let  me  see,"  soliloquized  Ham 
ilton,  while  slowly  making  his  way  through  the  crowd  up 
Cortlandt  street ;  "where  have  I  heard  that  name  ?  I  won 
der  if  he  could  be  any  relation  to  my  Washington  friend, 
Mrs.  Senator  Renshaw  ?  He  certainly  bears  enough  resem 
blance  to  be  her  son.  Well,  if  he  is,  Miss  Emory  certainly 
has  a  lady  for  a  mother-in-law." 

On  a  purely  business  trip  and  desiring  to  be  down  town, 
Hamilton  put  up  at  the  Astor  House.  After  finishing 
his  breakfast  and  morning  paper  he  started  for  Wall 
street —  that  voracious  maelstrom  which  has  swallowed  up 
so  many  fine  fortunes,  and  wrecked  so  many  bright  lives. 
Arriving  at  the  corner  of  Broadway  and  Wall  street,  the 
clock  on  Trinity,  with  its  ponderous  strokes,  clanged  the 
hour  of  ten,  loud  and  startling,  on  the  damp  air. 

An  undefinable  presentiment  passed  over  his  soul,  as 
the  sound  of  the  last  stroke  slowly  died  away,  and  so 
overpowering  and  unpleasant  was  this  sensation,  that  he 
half  turned  away  from  the  ill-omened  street,  and  had  re 
solved  to  keep  out  of  the  business  and  return  home. 

"  It  is  only  an  investment  and  not  a  stock  gambling  oper- 


THE  MAELSTROM.  157 

ation,"  he  reasoned  to  himself,  "  and  such  an  opportunity 
for  making  money  quickly  may  not  again  offer  itself.  After 
this,  I  will  get  into  some  legitimate  business,"  and  thus 
assuring  himself  he  walked  slowly  down  the  narrow, 
crowded  street,  and  followed  with  his  eyes  the  innumera 
ble  gilt  signs,  until  finally  appeared  .upon  one  the  name 
of  "  I.  N.  Morse  &  Co.,  Bankers  and  Brokers." 

Ascending  the  steps,  the  door  opened  softly.  As  he 
entered  a  suite  of  handsomely  furnished  rooms,  not  a 
sound  disturbed  the  deep  stillness,  but  the  click,  click  of  a 
little  telegraph-like  looking  instrument,  under  a  glass  case, 
on  a  stand  at  one  end  of  the  room,  around  which  stood 
three  gentlemen,  anxiously  watching  a  long  narrow  ribbon 
of  paper  as  it  slowly  unwound  itself  from  a  wheel  within. 
It  was  passed  through  the  fingers  of  one  of  the  group 
who  called  out  excitedly,  "  Eighty,  eighty-one,  eighty- 
one  and  a  half  —  by  George  !  eighty-three  at  one  jump." 

"  The  Devil 's  to  pay,  now." 

The  three  men  were  pale,  nervous,  and  utterly  oblivious 
of  Hamilton's  presence. 

"  Sell  three  hundred  telegraph  at  eighty-three  for  me, 
quick,"  called  one  in  Ipud  tones,  while  the  other  two  swore 
like  troopers.  "  Go  a  half  less/'  continued  the  speaker, 
"  if  you  can't  catch  it  at  three  ;  and  if  you  can  get  me  a 
thirty  day  '  put '  on  five  hundred  U.  P.,  don't  fail  to 
do  it." 

This  was  all  Greek  to  Larry. 

This  is  nothing  else  but  gambling,  pure  and  simple  — 
as  much  so  as  betting  on  faro.  In  the  latter  you  bet  that 
a  certain  card  will  turn  up,  and  in  stock  gambling  that  a 
certain  stock  will  rise  or  fall  to  a  certain  figure  —  that  is 
.nil  the  difference.  In  faro,  men  are  allowed  a  certain  per 
centage  of  the  winnings  for  giving  points,  or  false  infor- 


158  ARMOUR. 

mation,  to  deceive  the  unwary  ;  in  stocks,  financial  articles 
in  some  newspapers  are  strongly  suspected  of  being  hired 
for  the  same  nefarious  purpose. 

Stock  gambling  is  the  worst  form  of  gambling  ;  and  its 
effects  are  ten  times  more  demoralizing  than  the  faVo  bank. 
At  the  latter,  a  man  sits  down  and  probably  plays  all  night ; 
when  morning  comes  he  has  either  lost  or  won.  In  either 
case  the  strain  is  over  for  a  time  at  least.  But  in  stocks, 
an  operator  loads  up  with  or  unloads  his  favorite  stock  — 
buying  for  a  rise  or  selling  for  a  fall  — and  is  then  either 
long  or  short  of  the  market ;  long  when  he  buys  for  a  rise 
and  short  when  he  sells  for  a  fall.  He  then  waits,  O  how 
impatiently  and  miserably  anxious  for  the  denouement.  At 
sound  of  his  door-bell  his  heart  almost  stops  beating,  and 
as  a  telegram  is  handed  him,  trembling  between  hope  and 
fear  he  dreads  to  read  his  fate.  Any  one  may  tell  him  he 
has  lost  all  and  is  a  ruined  man,  and  one  chance  in  a 
thousand  that  he  has  made  a  small  fortune. 

In  this  miserably  uncertain  state  of  suspense  and  anx 
iety  the  victim  may  remain  for  weeks  with  the  sword  of 
Damocles  suspended  over  him.  At  length  the  strain 
becomes  so  fearful  that  fiery  stimulants  are  called  in  to 
buoy  up  and  bolster  the  over-wrought  mind,  unstrung 
nerves,  and  weary  brain,  and  to  dull  the  miserable  sus 
pense  until  the  blow  falls.  Ninety-nine  times  out  of  a 
hundred  he  loses,  no  matter  which  side  of  the  market  he 
is  on.  He  is  playing  against  loaded  dice. 

All  the  while  the  operator  has  been  living  in  a  frame  of 
mind  so  peculiarly  unhappy  that  only  those  who  have 
gone  through  the  mill  can  thoroughly  appreciate  it.  His 
nerves  have  been  taxed  to  the  utmost,  while  his  mind  has 
been  preternaturally  on  the  alert.  There  has  been  no 
rest  for  him,  and  he  loses  all  taste  for  ordinary  excitement 


THE  MAELSTROM.  159 

and  the  pursuits  which  interest  his  fellow-men.  He  is 
apart  from,  and  indifferent  and  callous  to,  everything  going 
on  around  him.  Things  which  amuse  and  entertain  a 
man  in  a  healthy  state  of  mind  bore  him,  and  are  as  vapid 
and  insipid  to  him  as  are  the  incidents  of  every-day  life 
to  the  brilliant  dreams  of  the  wretched  opium  .eater.  The 
quiet,  even  tenor  of  the  lives  of  his  fellow-men  seem  as 
monotonous  and  irksome  to  the  gambler,  as  the  tread 
mill  existence  of  the  galley-slave.  Few  men  can  operate 
in  stocks,  or  gamble  very  long,  without  ultimately  resorting 
to  drink.  The  twin  devils  go  hand  in  hand,  and  will,  sooner 
or  later,  break  and  ruin  the  best  man  living.  It  is  only  a 
question  of  time  with  them.  No  brush  can  paint,  nor  pen 
depict,  the  subtile  fascination  of  the  first  eddies  of  this 
dreadful  whirlpool,  nor  can  imagination  scarcely  conceive 
the  unutterable  anguish  and  despair  of  that  wretched  man 
who  fathoms  this  hell  to  its  utmost  depths. 

One  might  as  well  endeavor  to  reason  with  a  madman 
as  with  a  confirmed  gamester,  or  stock  operator.  At  last, 
under  the  insane  spell,  desperate,  and  still  retaining  that 
miserable  hope  for  final  success  which  follows  him,  and  is 
characteristic  of  the  confirmed  gamester  to  the  last,  the 
victim  of  this  vile  business  sinks  family  and  fortune,  and 
wringing  the  last  dollar  he  can  rake  or  scrape  from  family, 
friends,  or  acquaintances,  he  throws  honor  to  the  winds, 
and  commits  some  crime  in  order  to  obtain  means  with 
which  to  gratify  this  terrible  passion  for  play,  and  often 
fills  the  grave  of  the  suicide,  convict,  or  drunkard. 

I  have  seen  men  of  family,  fortune,  and  brains,  with  the 
most  brilliant  prospects  in  life  before  them,  in  a  few  years 
after  entering  Wall  street,  from  dealing  in  thousands  of 
shares  at  the  offices  of  the  most  aristocratic  brokers  on 
the  street,  lose  all,  and  be  compelled  to  move  from  their 


160  ARMOUR. 

handsome  brown-stone  houses,  in  the  most  fashionable 
quarter  of  the  city,  to  some  miserable  tenement  on  the 
outskirt.  With  handsome  house  gone,  family  in  destitu 
tion,  ruined  in  health,  and  broken  in  spirit,  spending  his 
time  in  begging,  and  borrowing  paltry  sums  with  which  to 
still  further  pursue  the  phantom  that  has  lured  him  on  to 
ruin ;  and  thus,  lost  to  all  pride  and  manhood,  pale  and 
trembling,  in  seedy,  though  fashionably-cut,  garments,  — 
the  unhappy  reminder  of  more  prosperous  days, —  hanging 
over  the  stock  indicator  of  some  disreputable  bucket-shop, 
amongst  cab-drivers  and  news-boys,  watching  with  insane 
and  sickening  anxiety  the  fluctuations  which  will  either 
make,  or  most  likely  lose  him  some  trifling  sum,  while  hi.s 
family  dare  not  go  into  the  street  for  want  of  decent 
clothing. 

As  the  gentleman  who  had  been  reading  out  the  quota 
tions  became  aware  of  Larry's  presence,  he  looked  up 
keenly  and  inquiringly,  and  advanced  to  speak  to  him  ; 
and,  with  a  quiet  good-morning,  took  the  letter  of  intro 
duction  Hamilton  handed  him  from  Conyngham,  in  read 
ing  which,  the  gentleman's  face  wreathed  in  the  blandest 
of  smiles,  and  shaking  hands  with  him  cordially  said,  ".I 
am  very  glad  to  see  any  friend  of  Conyngham,  Mr.  Ham 
ilton,  and  if  there  is  anything  I  can  do  to  render  your  stay 
in  the  city  pleasant,  I  am  at  your  service." 

"  Thank  you  ;  but  I  am  on  a  purely  business  trip,  and 
intend  returning  home  this  evening.  If  you  are  not  too 
busy  I  would  like  to  speak  with  you  a  few  minutes 
privately." 

"  Certainly,  certainly.  Just  come  into  my  private 
office." 

A  glass  door  was  quickly  pushed  to  one  side,  and  closed 
as  the  two  entered  a  small  side  room. 


THE  MAELSTROM.  161 

Hamilton  explained  his  business,  and  when  he  returned 
to  his  hotel  he  was  a  large  holder  of  N.  and  B.  stock.  His 
crisp  government  bonds  had  been  exchanged  for  the 
fancy  printed  stock  certificates  of  a  worthless  road,  head 
over  heels  in  debt,  and  without  one  earthly  prospect  of 
ever  being  able  to  pay  a  dividend —  a  road  running 
through  a  strip  of  country  that,  for  all  practical  purposes, 
might  just  as  well  have  been  the  desert  of  Sahara. 

After  dinner,  taking  a  stage,  he  rode  up  town ;  arriving 
at  the  Hoffman  House  he  sent  his  card  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Renshaw. 

The  servant  returned  in  a  few  moments,  and  informed 
him  that  the  lady  would  see  him  in  the  parlor  in  a  few 
minutes, — wonld  the  gentleman  walk  up  stairs  ? 

Mrs.  Renshaw  soon  made  her  appearance,  and  excused 
her  husband,  as  an  old  college  friend  had  made  a  pre 
vious  engagement  to  meet  him  that  afternoon,  and  had 
just  sent  up  his  card. 

"  How  is  Fannie,  and  all  the  rest  of  our  friends  in 
Armour  ?  And  are  you  still  a  bachelor,  Mr.  Hamilton  ? 
Why,  I  thought  you  and  Emily  Charlton  would  have  been 
married  long  ago." 

Of  course  Larry  had  the  delicacy  to  avoid  mentioning 
Conyngham's  name,  and  the  two  friends  had  a  very  pleas 
ant  chat  over  old  times.  Lou  informed  Larry  they  were 
living  in  C  — ,  and  that  she  was  the  mother  of  two  beau 
tiful  children,  a  little  girl  and  boy.  From  her  conversa 
tion,  and  from  the  fact  that  her  husband,  as  he  had 
surmised,  was  the  son  of  Senator  Renshaw,  he  concluded 
that  she  had  been  fortunate  in  her  marriage  and  was 
happy. 

On  leaving,  he  received  a  warm  invitation  to  stop  and 
see  them  on  his  wedding  trip,  as  he  informed  her  that  he 


162  ARMOUR. 

expected  in  a  few  months,  to  make  her  friend,  Fannie 
Adair,  Mrs.  Lawrence  Hamilton. 

During  his  long  ride  home,  Hamilton  could  not  shake 
off  a  feeling  of  gloomy  foreboding;  but  an  interview  with 
Conyngham  the  next  morning  reassured  him,  and  he'soon 
regained  his  natural  gayety.  As  the  days  flew  by,  he 
watched  with  anxiety  every  meeting  of  the  directors,  for 
information  concerning  the  contemplated  lease. 

Conyngham  and  his  confederates  had,  for  several  years 
past,  through  their  brokers,  been  quietly  picking  up  N.  and 
B.  stock  at  from  five  to  ten  dollars  per  share,  and  had  now 
nearly  all  the  stock  in  their  own  hands.  Several  meet 
ings  of  the  directors  had  been  held,  and  wide  publication 
of  the  fact  was  circulated  through  the  leading  papers, 
and  all  the  details  of  the  proposed  lease  were  well  dis 
cussed,  and  a  glowing  recital  of  the  great  advantages  which 
were  to  result  from  it  were  set  forth  in  the  most  alluring 
manner.  The  now  familiar  farce  of  an  engineer's  report 
as  to  the  best  route  for  the  continuation  of  the  road 
through  rich  coal  and  timber  fields,  which,  in  fact,  existed 
only  in  the  imagination  of  the  deluded  public,  was  enacted 
with  ceremonious  precision. 

All  the  directors  were  more  or  less  interested  in  the 
job.  Some,  with  conscientious  scruples  in  reference  to 
stock  operations,  and  careful  of  their  reputation  as  leading 
Christians,  made  large  purchases  of  worthless  timber  and 
coal  lands  at  a  nominal  figure,  and  while  these  meetings 
were  in  progress,  and  the  fever  at  its  height,  sold  out  at 
a  figure  which  netted  them  a  handsome  fortune. 

Meantime,  Conyngham  and  his  friends  continued  to 
quietly  unload  their  worthless  trash  on  confiding  friends 
and  the  public,  at  from  forty-five  to  fifty  dollars  per  share. 


BURSTING  OF  THE  N.  AND  B.  BUBBLE.     163 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

THE   BURSTING  OF   THE   N.    AND   B.    BUBBLE. 

MUCH  to  the  surprise  of  all  who  knew  Larry  Hamil 
ton's  love  of  display  and  fondness  for  gayety,  his  wedding 
was  a  very  quiet  affair  and  conspicuous  only  by  the  ab 
sence  of  ostentation  and  show,  which  did  not  fail  to  elicit 
many  compliments  from  sensible  people. 

After  the  usual  formal  wedding  trip  on  the  old  estab 
lished  route, —  New  York,  Boston  and  the  White  Moun 
tains,  —  they  spent  several  days  with  Lou  Emory,  or  Mrs. 
Renshaw,  on  their  return.  On  calling  at  Mr.  Morse's 
office  the  morning  after  his  arrival  in  New  York,  Larry  was 
surprised  at  the  warm  reception  he  received  from  that 
gentleman. 

"  Good  news,  Hamilton !  Let  me  congratulate  you. 
You  are  in  luck.  There  was  a  meeting,  yesterday,  of  the 
directors  of  your  road,  and  N.  and  B.  has  gone  up  five 
points.  If  I  were  you  I  would  close  out  at  once.  You 
know  the  old  saying  about  the  bird  in  hand. " 

"  Have  they  completed  the  final  arrangement  for  the 
lease, "  asked  Hamilton,  while  the  blood  leaped  wildly 
through  his  veins,  as  he  paced  the  room.  The  mad  fever 
of  the  gamester  had  taken  possession  of  him. 

"  No,"  Morse  replied ;  "  but  it  is  as  good  as  settled. 
Only  a  few  preliminaries  remain  to  be  arranged  ;  and 
while  I  never  like  to  advise  any  of  my  customers,  Mr. 
Hamilton,  and  have  always  made  it  a  rule  not  to  endeavor 


1 64  ARMOUR. 

in  any  way  to  influence  them  in  their  operations,  I  am 
very  much  interested  in  you,  and  am  going  to  presume  for 
once  and  ask  you  to  sell.  I  have  been  on  the  street  for 
many  years,  and  know  it  is  very  hard  for  a  new  operator 
to  let  go,  when  he  is  sure  he  has  a  good  thing  and  relia 
ble  inside  information  from  headquarters.  I  have  seen 
many  men  hold  on  a  day  too  late,  whose  prospects  were  as 
flattering  as  your  own.  Take  an  old  stager's  advice,  close 
out  and  be  satisfied.  You  have  now  a  handsome  credit 
on  our  books  —  more  money  than  have  many  men  who 
have  toiled  hard  for  a  life-time.  But  of  course  you  are 
your  best  judge,  and  I  merely  give  you  my  opinion  as  a 
friend.  Bring  your  wife  down  after  business  hours,  and 
we  will  take  a  boat  ride  up  the  East  river.  The  weather 
is  delightful  and  it  will  be  a  pleasant  little  trip  for  both  of 
you.  " 

Larry  accepted  the  invitation  and  hurried  out  of  the 
office. 

Instead  of  selling  he  had  purchased  more  stock. 

"  Yes,  drive  to  the  Hoffman  House  as  quick  as  you 
can,  "  he  impatiently  answered  the  hackman,  as  he  sank 
back  in  the  carriage.  He  could  hardly  realize  his  good 
fortune,  and  was  feverish  and  excited.  Visions  of  brown- 
stone  houses,  four-in-hands,  and  elegant  and  costly  pres 
ents,  were  pictured  in  his  mind.  Nothing  but  a  pair  of 
horses  would  do  for  his  friend  Conyngham  who  had  been 
the  cause  of  his  good  fortune. 

"Why,  Larry,  what  in  the  world  is  the  matter?  "  asked 
his  wife,  as  he  hurried  into  the  room.  "  What  has  hap 
pened  ?  You  look  as  white  as  marble  and  your  eyes  shine 
as  if  you  were  in  a  high  fever. " 

"  Matter  1    Why  matter  enough.     N.  and   B.  has  gone 
up  five  points  and  we  are  rich;"  and,  unable  to  restrain 


BURSTING  OF  THE  N.  AND  B.  BUBBLE.   165 

himself,  Larry  embraced  and  kissed  his  young  wife  over 
and  over  again,  until,  between  laughing  and  questioning, 
Fannie  could  scarcely  get  her  breath.  "  Come  on  ;  let  us 
go  down  to  Tiffany's  and  get  that  pair  of  solitaires  we 
admired  so  much  when  we  passed  through  last  week. 
And  I'll  buy  mother  something  handsome.  What  shall  it 
be  ?  " 

"  I  think,  Larry,  you  had  better  wait  until  everything  is 
settled  and  the  money  in  your  hands,  before  we  celebrate 
our  success,"  replied  Fannie,  with  the  natural  caution  of 
the  sensible  little  woman  she  was  ;  and,  in  spite  of  his 
determination  to  spend  a  large  amount  in  presents,  she 
managed  to  persuade  him  to  wait  a  few  days. 

At  three  o'clock  they  called  at  Mr.  Morse's  office,  and 
after  a  few  minutes  of  explanation  to  Fannie  of  the  modus 
operandi  of  dealing  in  stocks  through  the  indicator,  the 
three  hurried  off  to  the  boat,  which  they  reached  just  in 
time. 

The  afternoon  was  delightful  and  their  bright  prospects 
had  put  Larry  and  Fannie  in  the  best  of  spirits.  They 
were  happier  than  they  had  ever  been  in  their  lives.  In 
their  honeymoon,  and  having  suddenly  made  a  large  sum 
of  money  without  turning  a  hand  or  hardly  necessitating  a 
thought,  why  should  they  not  be  happy  ? 

Morse  seemed  serious  and  anxious,  and  very  evidently 
did  not  participate  in  their  pleasure. 

As  delicately  as  possible  he  still  endeavored  to  persuade 
Hamilton,  as  they  leaned  over  the  guards  listening  to  the 
sweet  strains  of  the  Blue  Danube  and  watching  the  reced 
ing  city,  to  close  out  his  accounts  while  he  could  do  so  at 
a  handsome  profit.  He  explained  to  Fannie  the  hazard 
ous  nature  of  stock  operations,  and  how  quickly  the  tide 
might  turn  the  other  way,  and  she  united  with  him  in  try- 


1 66  ARMOUR. 

ing  to  persuade  her  husband  to  sell.  But  when  did  any 
man  making  money  rapidy,  ever  know  when  he  had 
enough  ? 

" I  will  either  'make  a  spoon  or  spoil  the  horn,' "  was 
his  impatient  reply. 

"  I  have  done  my  duty,  Mr.  Hamilton,"  said  Morse,  with 
a  deep  sigh  ;  "  and  I  earnestly  hope  your  most  sanguine 
expectations  may  be  more  than  realized." 

The  next  day  the  stock  still  advanced  and  the  other 
customers  in  the  office  caught  the  N.  and  B.  fever  on  the 
strength  of  Hamilton's  information,  and  with  Hamilton 
kept  loading  up  at  these  high  figures. 

Morse  obeyed  their  orders  in  a  sad,  listless  sort  of  way, 
in  marked  contrast  with  the  joyous  hilarity  of  his  custom 
ers,  who  were  all  anticipating  a  big  rise  when  the  lease  should 
be  finally  consummated. 

Morse  was  suspicious  that  Conyngham  and  his  friends 
were  quietly  feeding  the  market  and  unloading  their  worth 
less  shares,  and  felt  almost  certain  that  the  bubble  would 
soon  burst.  But  professional  honor  forbade  the  exposure 
of  any  of  their  suspected  movements. 

With  one  young  fellow  from  Maryland  Larry  was  par 
ticularly  pleased,  and  he  struck  up  a  very  pleasant  acquaint 
ance  with  him.  His  name  was  Evan  Travis  ;  and  from 
Morse  he  learned  that  he  that  day  invested  the  last  five 
thousand  of  a  large  fortune,  which  his  father  had  left  him 
a  few  years  before,  in  N.  and  B.  He  had  lost  all  in  stock 
gambling  in  that  time,  except  this  amount.  He  had  in 
vested  on  the  strength  of  the  lease. 

A  month  after  Hamilton  returned  home,  he  received 
the  following  dispatch  : 

"  N.  and  B.  dropped  five  points  to-day.  Shall  I  sell  ? 
Answer  quick." 


BURSTING  OF  THE  N.  AND  B.  BUBBLE.     167 

Hamilton  at  once  telegraphed  back,  "  No  ;  hold  until 
I  wire  you.  Let  me  know  any  important  fluctuations." 

During  the  following  week  N.  and  B.  had  fallen  ten 
points'  below  the  figure  at  which  Larry  had  purchased  it, 
and  his  margin  was  exhausted.  He  had  lost  over  one 
half  his  advance  in  a  few  months  after  receiving  it. 

Picking  up  the  "  Herald  "  a  few  days  after,  he  read  the 
following : 

"  SHOCKING  SUICIDE.  —  Evan  Travis,  one  of  the  old 
and  well-known  Travis  family  of  Eastern  Shore,  Mary 
land,  committed  suicide  in  the  New  York  Hotel,  last  night, 
by  shooting  himself  through  the  head.  Deceased  called 
for  his  keys,  as  usual,  before  retiring,  and  after  a  few 
minutes  pleasant  conversation  with  the  clerk,  inquired  if 
there  were  any  letters  for  him,  bade  him  good-night,  and 
retired.  Hearing  the  loud  'report  of  a  pistol  about  mid 
night,  the  night  watchman  burst  the  door  of  Mr.  Travis' 
room  open,  and  found  the  unfortunate  gentleman  lying  on 
the  floor  partially  dressed,  and  bleeding  profusely  from  an 
ugly  wound  in  his  forehead.  He  gasped  once  or  twice 
and  expired.  His  last  moments  had  evidently  been  spent 
in  writing  several  letters  to  his  family,  as  the  addresses 
were  scarcely  dry  when  the  writer  lay  a  corpse.  Mr. 
Travis  was  a  pleasant  and  handsome  young  man  and  very 
popular  in  society.  Reverses  in  stock  operations  are  the 
reasons  assigned  by  his  friends  for  ending  his  life." 


168  ARMOUR. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

CONSISTENCY,  THOU    ART   A  JEWEL. 

"To  what  church  do  the  Conynghams  belong,  Mr. 
Adair  ?  "  asked  a  gentleman  visiting  Armour  on  some  legal 
business,  as  he  sat  waiting  for  the  train  in  Ralph's  office. 

"  I  believe  they  were  originally  Lutherans,  at  least,  when 
children  they  attended  that  church,  and  their  mother 
belonged  to  that  denomination  ;  but  as  they  grew  up  they 
wandered  off,  and  attached  themselves  to  the  Presbyterian 
and  Episcopal  churches." 

"The  Lutherans  were  probably  not  aristocratic  enough 
for  them  as  their  wealth  increased  !  "  sneered  Mr.  Mc- 
Intosh,  —  the  gentleman  who  had  made  the  inquiry,  in 
the  little  senatorial  caucus  held  in  General  Conyngham's 
library,  and  which  had  so  excited  the  ire  of  the  latter  by 
the  remark  that  the  people  looked  forward  to  seeing  Little- 
john  prove  a  second  Sumner  in  the  senate,  and  which 
remark  cost  that  gentleman  his  political  position  as  a 
member  of  the  legislature. 

The  Conynghams  never  forgave  even  an  insinuation 
derogatory  to  their  influence  or  power,  and  they  punished 
mercilessly  those  who  dared  to  openly  discuss  their  pecu 
liar  methods  and  motives.  So  great  had  become  their 
power  over  the  people,  that  the  least  assertion  of  manhood 
or  independence  in  public  men  at  once  drew  down  upon 
them  the  wrath  of  their  masters,  and  in  spite  of  the  pro 
tests  of  their  constituents  they  were  obliged  to  step  down 
and  out. 


CONSISTENCY,  THOU  AR T  A  JEWEL.     169 

"  Yes,"  replied  Ralph  ;  "  it  looked  very  much  to  me  that 
way.  It  is  a  very  unusual  thing  for  people  to  forsake  the  re 
ligion  of  their  fathers,  and  very  few  people  can  do  it.  I  know 
I  could  not,  unless  from  the  most  conscientious  of  motives, 
and  the  best  of  reasons." 

"  One  would  think  the  last  place  to  look  for  aristocratic 
preferences  and  social  distinctions,"  said  Mclntosh, 
"  would  be  in  churches.  Christians  all  claim  to  promul 
gate  the  great  doctrine  of  Christ,  the  very  foundation  of 
which  is  the  equality  of  mankind  and  their  universal  broth 
erhood." 

"  It  should  not  be  that  we  should  look  to  the  churches 
as  the  umpires  of  social  caste  and  distinction,"  said  Ralph  ; 
"  and  for  the  very  reason  that  here  these  distinctions  are 
most  sharply  drawn,  I  think  accounts,  in  a  great  measure, 
for  the  fact  that  the  churches  are  fast  losing  their  hold  on 
the  confidence  and  the  affections  of  the  people,  and  why 
scepticism  and  infidelity  are  making  such  rapid  progress 
amongst  them  of  late." 

"  I  have  often  tried  to  study  the  cause  of  the  loss  of  in 
fluence  the  church  at  one  time  possessed  over  the  people ; 
and  I  believe  the  key-note  to  it  is  in  the  obsequiousness 
of  the  ministers  to  the  wealthy  and  influential  classes,  and 
in  the  leniency  they  show  to  their  delinquencies  and  short 
comings." 

"  There  is  no  doubt  that  has  a  great  deal  to  do  with  the 
humiliating  position  in  which  the  church  finds  itself  to-day, 
and  has  had  a  great  deal  to  do  with  making  the  name 
of  modern  Christianity  a  by-word  of  contempt  and  reproach 
instead  of  an  honor.  We  cannot  but  acknowledge  that 
the  name  of  Christian  does  not  carry  with  it  the  same  sig 
nificance  it  used  to  carry." 

"No,  I  know  it  does   not,"   replied   Ralph,  earnestly. 


1 70  ARMOUR. 

"  Preachers  and  churches  may  go  on  making  loud  and  os 
tentatious  professions  of  piety  until  doomsday,  but  while 
these  loud  professions  are  so  universally  contradicted  by 
their  practices  in  every-day  life,  it  will  only  have  the  effect 
of  inspiring  the  people  with  contempt  for  not  only  modern 
Christianity,  but  for  real  Christianity,  too." 

"  When  the  small-pox  broke  out  in  our  town,  with  but 
one  noble  exception,  all  the  clergymen  closed  up  their 
churches,  unlike  the  physicians,  who,  to  a  man,  after 
taking  the  necessary  precautions,  attended  to  their  duties. 
Others  quickly  gathered  up  their  children  like  a  hen  does 
her  chickens,  and,  having  ample  means,  flew  off  to  a  far 
city,  where  in  a  place  of  safety  from  the  scourge,  they  con 
gratulated  themselves  on  having  escaped  the  dreadful  con 
tagion,  and,  I  suppose,  prayed  for  the  safety  of  their 
thousands  of  suffering  fellow-men." 

" There  is,"  said  Mr.  Mclntosh,  "more  marked  social 
distinctions  in  churches,  to-day,  than  can  be  found  any 
where  else.  The  front  seats  in  nearly  all  churches  are  re 
served  for  the  wealthy  and  aristocratic  classes,  while  the 
back  part  is  filled  exclusively  with  the  poorer  people. 
When  they  build  handsome  churches,  run  in  debt,  and  find 
their  exchequers  low,  they  get  a  sudden  love  for  the  poor, 
and  loudly  announce  from  the  pulpit  the  fact  that  these 
churches  are  free  to  all,  without  regard  to  distinction,  but 
say  nothing  as  to  the  position  these  people  are  expected 
to  occupy  in  the  church  and  its  affairs." 

"  Yes,"  said  Ralph,  "  and  to  see  a  young  and  nobby- 
looking  youth,  with  fashionably-cut  whiskers,  between  the 
age  of  eighteen  and  thirty-five,  —  for  this  is  the  kind  now 
in  demand,  the  old,  staid  style  of  ministers,  being  out  of 
fashion,  —  with  the  airs  and  graces  of  a  third-rate  variety 
actor,  get  up  and  flippantly  read  out  the  hymn,  '  O,  to 


CONSISTENCY,  THOU  ART  A  JEWFL.     171 

be  Nothing,'  and  a  fashionable  congregation  arise  and  join 
in,  with  one  eye  on  their  hymn  book  and  the  other  on  their 
neighbor's  seal-skin  coat,  and  with  elongated  and  solemn 
visages,  proceed  to  sing,  '  Oh,  to  be  nothing,'  when  every 
person  knows  they  are  dying  to  be  somebody." 

"  I  wish,  Mr.  Adair,"  said  Mr.  Mclntosh,  after  laugh 
ing  heartily  at  his  friend's  description  of  the  modern 
church  people,  "  you  had  seen  a  picture  I  saw  in  the  gal 
lery  at  Dresden,  last  summer.  It  represented  the  mediaeval 
nobility  attending  church.  The  service  was  represented 
as  being  held  in  a  magnificent  temple,  with  marble  col 
umns,  costly  paintings,  malachite  tablets,  and  splendid, 
stained-glass  windows,  with  all  the  adornments  that  wealth 
could  purchase  or  the  imagination  of  man  could  conceive, 
while  an  elegant  surpliced  minister,  in  keeping  with  his 
aristocratic  surroundings,  read  from  the  Psalter,  '  Lord 
have  mercy  upon  us  poor  miserable  sinners.'  And  as  the 
congregation  repeated  these  words,  like  so  many  gayly- 
plumaged  parrots,  magnificently  arrayed  in  shining  satin 
and  lustrous  silks,  and  with  their  jewels  flashing  and  spark 
ling  like  the  mines  of  Golconda,  what  sublime  mockery 
and  hypocrisy  were  expressed  in  their  countenances,  their 
words,  their  worship,  and  their  dress.  '  Poor  miserable 
sinners  ! '  Do  you  believe  they  thought  they  were  ?  The 
young  ogled  and  flirted  with  one  another,  haughty  and 
ambitious  dowagers  looked-  on  approvingly,  while  here 
and  there  were  supercilious-looking,  red-faced,  grey-haired, 
aristocratic  old  fellows,  with  capon-lined  stomachs,  whose 
purple  veins  seemed  fairly  bursting  with  fine  old  wines, 
and  lords  who  could  count  their  millions.  Poor  miser 
able  sinners  indeed !  The  scene  would  not  be  an  inapt 
picture  of  one  of  our  own  fashionable  churches." 

"  So  long  as  this  state  of/affairs  continues,  will  we  have 


i;2  ARMOUR. 

flippant  fools,  sensational  young  snobs,  and  theological 
mountebanks,  who,  under  the  sacred  garb  and  calling  of 
the  ministry,  will  continue  to  give  us  third-class  theatrical 
entertainments  every  Sabbath,  and  airs  and  esthetical  non 
sense  where  we  should  have  the  brains  and  practical  piety 
which  distinguished  the  church  in  its  older  and  better 
days.  Then  men  were  placed  in  the  high  offices  of  the 
church  for  their  pure  and  blameless  lives,  and  not  for  the 
amount  of  wealth  they  possessed,  or  the  influence  they 
could  bring  to  bear  on  church  or  political  primaries,  or  on 
the  ministers'  salaries." 

"There  is  as  much  Ring  rule  and  Bossism  in  the  church, 
to-day,  as  there  are  in  politics,  and  the  whole  system  needs 
a  complete  revolution." 

"  My  ideal  of  a  Christian  is  a  meek,  humble,  unostenta 
tious,  honest  man,  who  does  his  duty  to  both  God  and  his 
fellow-man,  not  by  lip  service,  nor  when  and  where  it  will 
count  most  in  dollars  and  cents  and  in  prestige." 

"  I  tell  you,  Mr.  Mclntosh,  when  the  church  becomes  a 
mere  instrument  in  the  hands  of  the  ambitious  for  the  fu  r- 
thering  of  their  own  selfish  schemes,  and  for  the  gratifica 
tion  of  its  members'  vanity,  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  moral 
sentiment  of  the  community  becomes  corrupted,  and  the 
worship  of  mammon  by  the  church  communicates  itself 
throughout  society,  and  makes  possible  the  political  de 
bauchery  and  corruption  that-vve  see  on  every  hand.  As 
long  as  a  preacher's  popularity  is  estimated  by  the  num 
ber  of  slippers  he  receives  each  year,  instead  of  the 
number  of  good,  practical  sermons  he  has  preached,  the 
number  of  conversions  he  has  made,  and  the  practical 
good  deeds  he  has  done,  and  as  long  as  men  are  de 
manded  in  the  pulpit  on  account  of  their  pliability  and 
obsequiousness  to  power  and  wealth,  will  the  church  be 


CONSISTENCY,  THOU  ART  A  JEWEL.      173 

left  in  the  hands  of  intriguing  women  and  weak  men.  If 
they  are  right  and  we  are  wrong,  they  will,  in  all  proba 
bility,  see  in  Heaven  the  prophecy  of  Isaiah  fulfilled,  when 
seven  women  will  cling  to  one  man  for  his  name." 

"  And  the  prospects  are  that  it  will  be  peopled  with  a 
few  converted  heathens,  some  missionaries,  and  a  very 
large  number  of  women,  with  a  sprinkling  of  male  weak 
lings,  saved  for  the  purpose  of  not  making  the  predomi- 
nence  and  isolation  of  the  fair  sex  too  conspicuous." 

"  Why,  I  overheard  two  prominent  church  women  the 
other  day  praising,  extolling,  and  going  off  into  rapt 
ures  over  the  virtues  and  attractions  of  our  new,  young 
minister ;  and  one  of  them  wound  up  a  sickening,  fulsome, 
and  idiotic  eulogy  of  his  many  fine  points  by  adding, 
'  And  O,  he  has  such  a  well-shaped  leg.' " 


174  ARMOUR. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

THE   ESTHETICAL   RELIGIOUS   BAND. 

THE  perfect  fruits  of  this  fashionable  preaching  is  seen 
in  the  craze  which,  some  time  ago,  possessed  some  of 
the  most  bigoted  and  shallow-brained  of  these  followers 
of  an  esthetic  religion.  They  imagined  they  had  reached 
a  higher  life  :  what  they  meant  by  that  term  no  one  knows 
definitely,  but  from  what  could  be  learned  from  the  vic 
tims  of  this  singular  hallucination  themselves,  they  believed 
they  had  reached  a  stage  in  religious  experience  which 
placed  them  far  above  their  fellow  Christians,  and  that 
they  were  above  the  necessity  of  struggling  against  the 
machinations  of  the  evil  one,  like  ordinary  mortals. 

This  craze  generally  affected  women  belonging  to 
wealthy  families,  most  of  whose  days  had  been  spent  in 
idleness  and  self-indulgence,  and  whose  principal  object 
in  life  appeared  to  be  the  conspicuous  display  of  their 
transcendent  religious  virtues,  as  shown  by  great  promi 
nence  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  ornamental  and 
Sunday  School  departments  of  the  church." 

But  this  is  an  era  of  crazes. 

We  have  all  kinds  of  esthetic   crazes. 

The  most  ridiculous  of  all  the  esthetic  crazes  is  the 
esthetical  religious  craze.  One  of  these  fashionable  es 
thetic  religious  families,  presided  over  by  a  highly  esthetic, 
and  severely  self-righteous  esthetic  female  (assisted  by 
a  plethoric,  shallow-pated,  easily  managed,  old  gentk- 


THE  ESTHETIC  RELIGIOUS  BAND'      175 

man,  acting  as  elder  by  proxy  for  his  more  masculine 
and  self-asserting  esthetical  companion),  is  a  spectacle 
well  worthy  of  serious  contemplation. 

In  the  churches  where  these  esthetical  religious  wo 
men  rule,  you  will  invariably  find  the  fashionable  young 
preachers,  the  esthetical  young  men  who  "love  flowahs, 
you  know,"  and  who  have  their  pulpits  adorned  every 
Sabbath  by  esthetical  female  admirers  with  "  fwesh,  and 
innocent  flowahs  you  know  —  emblematic  of  our  puah 
Chvvstian  lives,  you  know,  ah."  These  are  the  lovely 
young  men  who  go  around  in  hot  midsummer  weather 
when  the  thermometers  are  away  up  in  the  nineties,  swel 
tering  in  long,  black  coats,  with  skirts  below  the  knees, 
black  pantaloons,  white  chokers,  and  glossy,  black  silk 
hats  —  a  walking  terror  to  all  people  endeavoring  to  keep 
cool.  They  seem  to  be  afraid  to  dress  like  other  men,  for 
fear  their  esthetical  admirers  might  see  the  only  difference 
between  them  was  the  cut  and  color  of  their  clothes,  and 
refuse  to  pay  the  deference  due  them  as  their  "  pawstaws." 

The  French  were  so  disgusted  with  this  style  of  clergy 
before  the  French  revolution,  at  a  time  when  the  people 
were  groaning  under  the  exactions  and  corruptions  of  the 
nobles,  and  their  tools,  the  corrupt  clergy,  that,  in  their, 
terse,  epigrammatic  way,  they  divided  the  human  race  into 
three  sexes,  men,  women,  and  preachers. 

"THE  ESTHETICAL  RELIGIOUS  BAND. 

"  If  you  are  anxious  to  shine, 
In  th'esthetic  religious  line, 

As  a  man  of  culture  rare, 
You  must  get  up  all  the  germs, 
Of  the  transcendental  terms, 

And  plant  them  everywhere. 


1 76  ARMOUR. 

You  must  preach  amongst  the  daisies, 
And  discourse  in  novel  phrases, 

Of  your  complicated  state  of  mind. 
The  meaning  doesn't  matter, 
If  its  only  religious  chatter, 

Of  a  transcendental  kind. 
And  the  ladies  all  will  say, 
As  you  talk  this  mystic  way,  — 

•  If  this  young  man  expresses  himself  in  terms  too  deep  for  me, 
Why,  what  a  very  singularly  deep  young  man  this  deep  young  man 

must  be  I ' 

"  Then  a  pious  kind  of  passion, 
Of  a  Beecher  sort  of  fashion, 

Must  excite  your  languid  mind. 
An  attachment  a  la  Plato, 
For  coy  and  bashful  maidens, 

Of  a  not  too  Frenchy  kind. 
-  Though  the  Philistines  may  jostle, 
You  will  rank  as  an  apostle, 

In  the  esthetic  religious  band. 
And  as  you  saunter  down  the  street, 
With  a  poppy  or  a  lily 

In  your  soft,  white  hand, 
The  ladies  all  will  say, 
As  you  walk  your  flowery  way, 
'  Why,  what  a  most  particular  pure  young  man, 
This  pure  young  man  must  be  I '" 


THE  TWIN  DEVILS.  177 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

THE  TWIN   DEVILS. 

SEVERAL  years  have  passed  since  we  left  Lawrence  Ham 
ilton  amidst  the  crash  of  the  N.  and  B.  Bubble. 

Instead  of  disgusting  and  completely  curing  Hamilton 
of  the  business,  strange  to  say,  it  only  made  him  more 
desperate  and  reckless,  and  he  plunged  madly  into  the 
vortex  and  operated  with  the  desperation  of  a  madman. 

In  the  fierce  excitement  of  gaming,  all  the  wild  instincts 
of  his  intense  nature  seemed  let  loose,  and  the  love  of 
excitement  in  the  Hamilton  blood  that  had  hitherto  lain 
dormant  in  him,  now,  like  a  serpent  warmed  into  life  by 
the  congenial  atmosphere  of  stock  gambling,  or  like  a  cub 
tiger's  first  lap  of  fresh  blood,  awakened  all  the  fierce 
instincts  of  its  nature,  and  for  two  years  he  thought  of 
nothing  nor  cared  for  anything  but  the  rise  and  fall  of 
stocks. 

Unable  to  withstand  the  suspense  during  the  intervals 
while  impatiently  awaiting  the  result  of  his  plans,  he 
resorted  to  stimulants,  and  soon  found,  like  nearly  all  stock 
gamblers,  that  the  twin  devils  naturally  went  hand  in  hand, 
in  this  as  in  every  other  species  of  gambling. 

A  singular  fatality  it  seemed  to  him  attended  nearly  all 
his  operations,  and  rendered  the  most  of  them,  no  matter 
which  side  of  the  market  he  was  on,  unsuccessful.  But  it 
was  simply  the  common  fate  of  nearly  all  who  were  en 
gaged  in  the  business.  The  public  hear  of  ventures  when 


178  ARMOUR. 

they  turn  out  well,  but  men  are  not  generally  in  the  habit 
of  making  public  their  losses. 

Once  when  he  did  make  a  lucky  strike  which  would 
have  nearly  covered  his  losses,  and  he  had  fully  resolved 
to  abandon  the  business,  he  found  the  parties  who  had 
operated  for  him  were  unprincipled,  and  irresponsible,  and 
refused  to  make  good  their  contracts. 

Like  all  this  class,  they  refused  flatly  to  pay  when  their 
customers  made  a  successful  operation  involving  any  large 
amount. 

Morse  had  long  ago  refused  to  run  the  risks  of  operating 
for  so  reckless  a  customer. 

"  Oh  Larry  !  Do  for  my  sake  quit  this  wretched  busi 
ness.  Can  you  not  see  it  is  ruining  you,  body  and  soul  ? 
Why,  you  are  not  the  same  person  you  used  to  be  at  all, 
you  have  lost  all  interest  in  everything  but  these  miserable 
stocks." 

Hamilton,  pale  and  trembling,  had  just  read  a  dispatch. 

Poor  Fannie,  as  she  spoke,  threw  her  arms  around  her 
husband,  and  looked  up  pleadingly  into  his  eyes,  and  as  he 
looked  into  her  troubled  and  appealing  face,  his  conscience 
smote  him  for  the  clouds  he  had  brought  there,  and  with  a 
forced  gayery  he  endeavored  to  cheer  her  up. 

But  it  was  a  very  difficult  matter  of  late  for  him  to 
be  cheerful,  and  when  he  was  sad  Fannie  was  sure  to 
be  sad  also. 

Yielding  to  her  importunities,  he  remained  at  home  that 
evening,  instead  of  seeking  the  company  of  the  gay  and  dis 
sipated  companions  whose  society  he  usually  sought  when 
anxious  to  drown  thought. 

As  they  sat  together  that  evening,  Fannie's  countenance 
wore  an  unusually  distressed  look.  Her  sweet  face,  dur 
ing  the  few  short  years  of  their  married  life,  had  already 


THE  TWIN  DEVILS.  179 

acquired  a  saddened  expression.  O,  how  bright  that  life 
once  seemed  to  her ! 

As  a  husband  and  son  none  could  have  been  more  fond 
than  Hamilton,  and  his  wife  and  mother  had  in  their  turn 
almost  worshipped  him.  Of  late,  however,  his  heavy 
drinking  and  the  fearful  pace  at  which  he  had  been  living 
were  beginning  unmistakably  to  tell  upon  him.  His  face 
was  still  handsome  and  expressive,  but  deadly  pale,  and 
his  hollow  eyes  gave  him  a  worn  and  haggard  look.  His 
friends  shook  their  heads,  and  turned  away  sadly  at  the 
•wreck  he  was  making  of  himself  and  his  future. 

His  wife  had  long  ago  exhausted  herself  in  pleading  and 
remonstrating  with  him,  and  now  could  do  nothing  but 
pray  for  him,  which  the  noble  little  woman  did  without 
ceasing,  for  she  loved  her  husband  as  she  did  her  own  life. 
Her  anxious  and  sadly  perplexed  face,  and  the  sorrowful, 
tender  face  of  his  mother,  seemed  only  to  drive  him  into 
more  desperate  efforts  to  retrieve  himself  in  the  very  busi 
ness  that  was  ruining  him.  He  sank  deeper  and  deeper 
into  the  mire,  and  was  whirled  with  fearful  rapidity  into 
the  innermost  circles  of  the  maelstrom. 

Friends  could  be  of  no  avail  now,  and  unless  Providence 
interfered  nothing  but  death  or  ruin,  or  both,  awaited  him. 
The  very  energy  of  his  intense  nature  made  his  descent 
all  the  more  swift,  and  seemed  to  whirl  him  more  rapidly 
to  ruin. 

Even  with  the  terrible  fate  of  young  Travis  before  him 
and  while  perfectly  well  aware  that  he  was  fast  following 
him  in  the  same  downward  course,  and  with  the  strong 
probability  of  as  tragic  an  end,  one  would  have  thought  a 
thinking  man  would  have  turned  backward  with  horror. 
But  if  ever  the  Devil  once  gets  drink  and  stock-gambling 
as  settled  habits  on  a  man,  it  is  a  combination  from  which 
very  few  are  fortunate  enough  to  escape. 


i8o  A  R MO  UK. 

He  had  lost  all  his  money  but  a  few  thousand  dollars, 
and  his  wife,  fearing  that  this  would  follow  the  rest,  had 
roused  herself  with  the  energy  of  despair  to  make  one  last  ap 
peal  to  him  to  save  this  and  get  into  some  legitimate  business. 

"  You  know,  Larry,  it  always  ends  the  same  way.  Even  if 
you  do  make,  you  always  go  right  back  and  never  stop  until 
you  have  lost  again.  As  for  the  money  you  know  I  do  not 
care  for  it  a  particle,  only  as  it  concerns  your  own  happi 
ness.  Only  think,  Larry,  of  the  way  you  have  been  living. 
You  cannot  certainly  go  on  much  longer  at  this  rate  with 
out  something  dreadful  happening.  Will  you  let  me  read 
you  a  little  poem  which  I  cut  out  of  a  paper  to-day  ?  " 

"  Certainly,  certainly,"  answered  Hamilton  as  he  seated 
himself  on  the  sofa  and  drew  his  wife  on  his  lap,  and  in 
her  sweet,  low  tones  she  read  : 

"  What  art  thou  doing  with  thy  life, 

Oh,  thou  with  many  gifts  ? 
Is  thine  a  nature  that  inspires, 

And  comforts  and  uplifts  ? 
Do  those  in  trouble  think  of  thee, 

As  of  a  precious  balm  ? 
And  does  thy  presence  lull  the  storm 

Till  it  becomes  a  calm. 

"  What  art  thou  doing  with  thy  life  ? 

Twas  meant  for  others'  use, 
And  awful  is  the  reckoning 
For  waste  and  for  abuse. 
Better  to  use  one  talent  well, 

Than  to  misuse  the  ten, 
*     The  smile  of  God  is  recompense 
For  all  the  scorn  of  men. 

"  What  art  thou  doing  with  thy  life  ? 

Up  and  be  doing  friend ; 
The  days,  and  nights,  and  months,  and  years. 
Our  God  doth  only  lend. 


THE  TWIN  DEVILS.  181 

If  time  was  all  our  own,  what  then  I 

It  might  be  freely  spent, 
But  it  is  borrowed  and  'tis  theft 

To  squander  what  is  lent. 

"  What  art  thou  doing  with  thy  life  ? 

Retrieve  a  past  of  guilt. 
Alas  I  thou  canst  not  gather  up 

The  drops  already  spilt. 
But  God  will  blot  out  yesterday 

For  the  Redeemer's  sake, 
If  thou  to-day,  with  good  resolves, 
Thy  old  ways  will  unmake. 

"  What  art  thou  doing  with  thy  life  ? 

It  is  already  noon ; 
The  evening  shadows  are  not  far  — 

The  night-time  will  come  soon. 
And  to  the  master  we  must  go 

At  setting  of  the  sun, 
To  hear  Him  say  how  our  day's  work 

Has  in  His  sight  been  done." 

As  she  finished  the  last  verse,  she  threw  her  arms  around 
her  husband,  and  she  cried  out,  in  heart-broken  accents,  "  O, 
Larry,  Larry  !  I  never  lay  my  head  on  my  pillow  at  night 
but  I  am  afraid  of  waking  up  and  finding  you  lying  dead 
beside  me.  You  cannot  keep  up  this  strain  much  longer. 
O,  if  you  would  only  lose  all,  and  then  come  to  your 
senses ! " 

Hamilton,  deeply  affected,  endeavored  to  soothe  his 
agitated  wife,  but  all  in  vain  ;  and  going  to  the  side-board, 
he  drank  deeply  of  the  fiery  stimulant,  he  had  of  late  been 
indulging  in  more  freely  than  usual.  He  was  sad  and 
miserable,  and  his  conscience  lashed  him  like  the  stings 
of  a  scorpion. 

"  It  is  too  late  now !  "  he  said  wearily,  while  his  wife 
pretended  to  occupy  herself  at  some  work  which  she  had 


1 82  ARMOUR. 

just  taken  up.  "  I  have  determined  to  finish  up  the 
whole  business  at  one  stroke  with  Brooks,  and  several 
others,  and  sent  my  draft  off  this  afternoon.  In  a  week's 
time  I  will  either  make  some  money,  or  lose  all.  I  have 
grown  desperate,  lately,  and  have  determined  to  end  it 
all." 

His  wife  said  nothing ;  but  as  she  nervously  continued 
sewing,  the  bitter  tears  slowly  coursed  down  her  wan 
cheeks,  and  the  little  mouth  quivered,  as  she  endeavored 
ineffectually  to  repress  the  sad  feeling  of  despair  which 
was  slowly  gathering  around  her  aching  heart. 

Glancing  at  her  husband's  haggard  face  and  supernat- 
urally  bright  eyes,  for  the  first  time  she  noticed  the  hard 
lines  which  the  last  few  years  had  left  around  the  clear 
cut  mouth.  She  was  startled  at  the  change.  He  seemed 
to  have  grown  ten  years  older  since  she  had  married 
him. 

"  Oh,"  she  mentally  exclaimed,  "  how  different  all  might 
have  been,  if  he  had  only  invested  his  money  in  some 
regular  business." 

Her  husband  noticed  her  unusually  dejected  appear 
ance,  and  after  several  attempts  he  partially  succeeded  in 
brightening  her  up.  He  was  passionately  fond  of  his 
little  wife,  and  was  miserable  when  he  realized  that  she 
was  unhappy. 

"  Larry,  answer  me  one  question  candidly.  Even  if  you 
had  been  successful  in  your  ventures,  do  you  think  you 
would  have  been  happy  leading  such  an  unnatural  life  ?  " 

"  I  suppose  I  would  be  about  as  happy  as  most  men 
are.  Some  men  would  be  miserable  leading  any  other 
kind  of  life." 

"  Don't  you  believe  that  those  men  who  are  engaged  in 
some  regular  business,  and  who  are  good,  pious  men,  \vho 


THE  TWIN  DEVILS.  193 

find  their  happiness  in  trying  to  make  their  fellowmen 
happy,  have  more  pleasure  in  life  than  Gould  or  Fisk,  or 
such  men,  who  have  made  their  money  in  gambling,  and 
lived  the  life  of  terrible  excitement  you  have  been  living 
for  the  last  two  years  ?  " 

"  I  will  be  candid  with  you,  Fannie,  and  confess  that 
no  poor  wretch  tortured  on  the  rack,  could  undergo  more 
intense  mental  distress  and  misery,  than  I  have  found  in 
this  business  ;  and  I  promise  you  faithfully  that  come 
what  may  of  this  last  venture,  I  will  never  touch  stocks 
again." 

"  But  that  is  not  the  worst  part  of  it,  Larry.  It  is  this 
dreadful  habit  of  drinking  which  has  grown  on  you  so 
much  of  late  that  I  fear." 

Unable  to  control  her  pent-up  feelings,  the  poor,  little 
wife  broke  down  completely,  and  bursting .  into  tears, 
sobbed  hysterically,  while  her  husband  could  only  draw 
her  to  him  and  caress  her  tenderly. 

Hamilton  at  that  moment  fully  realized  the  anxiety  and 
misery  his  course  had  caused  his  devoted  wife,  and  also 
how  far  he  had  fallen  in  his  desperate  attempts  to  get  rich 
suddenly. 

As  he  drew  her  closely  to  him,  she  sobbed  out  bitterly, 
"O,  Larry !  your  poor  mother  !  Can  you  not  see  you  are 
breaking  her  heart  ?  You  are  killing  her  by  inches  ;  and 
she  is  so  proud  of  you." 

This  was  too  much  for  Hamilton,  as  he  cried  out,  "  Oh, 
my  God  !  Don't  speak  of  it." 

For  Hamilton  to  lose  either  his  mother,  or  his  wife,  was 
to  lose  all  that  life  was  worth  living  for,  and  in  all  his  des 
perate  efforts  to  succeed,  it  was  for  them  that  he  looked 
proudly  forward  to  enjoy  his  success,  more  than  for 
himself. 


1 84  ARMOUR. 

As  they  thus  sat  clinging  to  each  'other,  a  low,  angry  roll 
of  thunder  filled  the  air.  The  afternoon  had  been  hot  and 
sultry,  and  a  storm  had  for  some  time  been  brewing. 

Neither  spoke  a  word.  Their  hearts  were  too  full  of 
sadness«and  despair. 

Flash  after  flash  of  lurid  lightning  made  the  room 
livid ;  and  the  deep-toned  thunder  crashed  overhead, 
as  the  storm  burst  forth  in  all  its  fury.  The  rain  poured 
down  in  torrents,  while  the  wind  wailed  and  howled  around 
the  house  like  the  cry  of  a  lost  spirit. 

Fannie  shuddered,  and  prayed  to  herself  amid  the 
raging  of  the  elements,  which  to  her  seemed  so  ominous 
of  their  future. 

The  next  morning  found  Hamilton  in  a  high  fever,  and 
unable  to  leave  his  bed.  Stimulants  for  once  failed  him, 
and  the  overtaxed  brain  and  worn-out  nervous  system, 
refused  to  answer  the  spur.  Towards  evening  his  wife 
became  alarmed.  At  times  he  acted  strangely,  and  looked 
after  her  with  a  wild,  weird,  uneasy  glance. 

Telegrams  came  in  thick  and  fast  from  brokers,  calling 
for  more  margin,  and,  at  the  same  time,  encouraging  him 
to  hold  out  for  a  day  or  two  yet,  and  all  would  be  right. 

Poor  Hamilton,  weak  and  panting  for  breath,  the  cold 
perspiration  rolling  off  his  forehead  in  great  drops,  would 
insist  on  being  held  up  in  the  bed,  while  his  nerveless 
fingers  endeavored  to  guide  the  trembling  pen,  as  he 
appealed  for  loans  to  his  bankers  and  friends  —  with  the 
energy  of  despair  trying  to  hold  on  to  his  last  hope,  and 
prevent  the  sacrifice  of  his  remaining  capital. 

The  next  day  he  was  still  worse,  and  at  times  became 
delirious,  while  in  his  lucid  intervals,  he  attempted  piti 
fully  and  feebly  to  give  some  directions  for  raising  the 
money  called  for,  and  eagerly  inquired  for  dispatches. 


THE  TWIN  DEVILS.  185 

Ralph  had  written  to  the  brokers  that  in  a  day  or  two 
the  matters  would  be  attended  to,  and  informed  them  also 
that  Mr.  Hamilton  was  not  only  very  seriously  ill,  but 
that  a  continuation  of  this  harassment  in  his  critical  con 
dition  might  prove  fatal.  Still  the  unfeeling  wretches 
worried  and  harassed  the  dying  man  with  their  incessant 
demands  for  more  margin.  Hamilton,  troubled  and  sick  to 
the  death,  and  partly  delirious,  still  insisted  on  opening,  and 
making  fruitless  efforts  to  reply  to,  their  telegrams,  until, 
apprehending  the  worst,  his  physician  informed  his  friends 
that  he  would  not  answer  for  the  consequences  if  his  pa 
tient  was  permitted  to  be  worried  any  more.  But  this 
was  easier  said  than  done,  with  a  man  as  determined  as 
Hamilton. 

A  change  did  take  place  for  the  worst,  and  be  became 
so  ill  that  at  times  it  was  very  doubtful  if  he  could  re 
cover  from  the  sinking  spells  which  frequently  prostrated 
him.  In  the  meanwhile,  his  poor  wife  and  mother  hung 
anxiously  over  his  bedside. 

In  the  long,  night  vigils,  while  he  thus  lay  hovering  be 
tween  life  and  death,  he  called  wildly  for  wife  and  mother. 

At  last  he  slowly  returned  to  life. 

In  the  sad,  wan,  and  haggard  invalid,  who,  with  his 
faithful  wife,  slowly  walked  around  the  streets  of  Armour 
during  his  convalescence,  few  who  had  known  him  in  his 
gay  days  would  have  recognised  the  dashing  young  Colo 
nel  Hamilton  who  was,  a  few  years  agone,  the  life  of  all 
the  social  gatherings  of  the  place,  and  whose  high  spirits 
and  keen  wit  had  made  him  a  local  ce&bre. 


1 86  OUR  PROTOTYPES. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

OUR    PROTOTYPES. 

As  he  sat  one  evening  in  a  large  easy  chair,  pensively 
watching  the  fast-fading  twilight,  during  his  convalescence, 
the  wild,  turbulent  past  seemed  to  him  unreal,  and  like 
some  terrible  nightmare  which  had  passed  away  forever. 

For  the  first  time  since  childhood,  he  inwardly  thanked 
God  for  having  so  mercifully  spared  him. 

Although  sceptical  as  to  the  methods  and  means  re 
sorted  to  by  modern  Christians  to  evangelize  the  world, 
and  opposed  to  the  fashionable  and  flippant  treatment  of 
so  solemn  a  subject,  he  had  still  retained  his  faith  in 
God  and  real  religion. 

As  they  thus  sat  quietly  enjoying  the  balmy  evening, 
Fannie  arose,  and,  softly  gliding  to  her  husband's  side,  ex 
claimed,  "  Oh  !  we  are  so  glad  to  have  our  dear  old  boy 
back  with  us.  It  seems  like  living  again  —  doesn't  it  ?  '' 

"Yes,  indeed  it  does,"  replied  Mrs.  Hamilton,  while  her 
care-worn  face  lit  up  with  a  tender  smile,  and  her  eyes 
moistened  suspiciously.  "  It  seemed,  the  last  two  years, 
as  if  it  was  some  one  else  and  not  our  Larry." 

The  corners  of  Hamilton's  mouth  twitched  nervously, 
and  he  endeavored  to  turn  the  subject  away  from  him 
self,  but  Fannie  was  equally  as  determined  to  take  advan 
tage  of  the  opportunity. 

"Surely,"  she  said,  "  Larry,  after  your  bitter  experience, 
you  i'.  vn'Ufvd  that  trying  to  find  happiness  in  self-seek- 


OUR   PROTOTYPES.  187 

ing  is  impossible.  Why  not  make  a  complete  change  in 
the  future,  and  try  the  other  life  for  a  while.  Certainly,  it 
is  worth  the  trial,  even  from  a  purely  selfish  and  worldly 
point  of  view." 

"  And  why  should  he  not  try  ?  "  he  said  to  himself.  And 
he  thought  how  peaceful  and  uniformly  happy  "had  his 
wife  been  in  her  worst  trials,  more  happy  than  he  ever  had 
been  even  when  the  prize  he  struggled  so  fiercely  for 
seemed  almost  within  his  grasp  and  the  world  looked  bright 
est  to  him.  It  caused  him  to  study  seriously  as  to  whether 
she  was  not  right  when  she  said  a  life  devoted  to  self-seek 
ing,  even  if  crowned  with  success,  could  not  be  a  happy 
one. 

And  from  that  moment  he  firmly  resolved  to  pursue  an 
entirely  different  course  in  the  future.  Hereafter,  he 
would  live  for  others  and  not  for  hknself.  He  would  lead 
a  life  that  would  make  his  wife  a^d  mother  happy,  and 
the  world  better  for  his  having  been  in  it. 

Unaware  of  the  impression  her  remarks  had  made  upon 
her  husband,  Fannie  continued,  "  Larry,  O  think,  if  you 
had  died  during  this  sickness?  What  do  you  believe 
would  have  become  of  you  ?  Do  you  have  any  thoughts 
on  eternity  ?  and  if  you  have,  what  arc  they  ?  " 

Hamilton  had  invariably  evaded  all  conversations  with 
his  wife  on  religious  topics,  but  this  evening  he  was  in 
clined  to  be  communicative  and  disposed  to  humor  her. 

"O,  I  hardly  know  myself,"  he  carelessly  replied. 
"  When  I  look  around  me  and  see  so  much  injustice  and 
misery  in  the  world,  where  it  might  just  as  easily  have 
been  the  opposite,  I  almost  feel  that  the  God  we  have  been 
taught  to  worship  from  childhood,  is  a  cruel  God  and  unjust, 
and,  according, to  the  teachings  of  our  Christian  religion, 
must  delight  in  our  misery;  it  seems  like  mockery  %o 


1 88  ARMOUR. 

hear  him  called  a  merciful  God.  Then,  again,  I  some 
times  feel  that  God  knew  perfectly  well,  before  I  came  into 
the  world,  what  I  would  do  when  here,  and  where  my  soul 
will  go  when  it  leaves  the  body.  If  not,  then  he  cannot 
be  God.  How  then  can  I  avoid  the  inevitable.  I  sup 
pose  at  such  times  you  might  call  me  a  fatalist.  Again, 
when  I  see  men  like  the  Conyngham's  successful  in  wick 
edness,  and  free  from  most  of  the  miseries  that  afflict 
mankind,  and  reveling  in  ill-gotten  gains,  acquired  by 
means  that  a  just  God  would  punish  them  for  in  this 
life,  I  cannot  reconcile  myself  to  the  justice  that  re 
wards  them  in  this  world  and  punishes  them  in  a  mythical 
future  one." 

After  a  pause  he  resumed.  "When  we  look  about,  and 
see  the  spider  which  weaves  the  web  that  catches  the  in 
nocent  fly,  and  the  tiger  who  lurks  in  wait  for  his  unsus 
pecting  prey  in  the  jungle,  and  the  hawk  that  pounces, 
from  the  vantage  of  his  high  position  in  mid-air,  upon  his 
innocent  victim  below,  I  think  how  much  men  are  like  them, 
and  prey  upon  the  weaker  and  more  helpless  fellows; 
and  I  cannot  understand  why  God  did  not  make  all  animal 
and  mankind  happy,  instead  of  living  in  constant  dread 
and  misery.  Sometimes  I  think  that  human  beings  are 
simply  animals  of  a  higher  development.  Amongst  men 
I  have  seen  the  owl,  in  those  persons,  like  old  Sammy  G — , 
who  look  wise,  and  knowing  nothing,  say  nothing — there 
by  getting  credit  for  wisdom  and  brains  they  never  pos 
sessed.  Little  sparrows.  .\!i..  h.ivc  a  hundred  times  the 
shrewdness,  wit,  and  energy,  of  these  solemn-visaed  old 
wise-acres,  receive  no  credit  whatever.  And  then  we  have 
vultures  and  jackals  amongst  men,  who  follow  in  the 
wake  and  at  the  heels  of  bolder  animals, —  the  lion  and 
the  eagle,  —  and  who  live  on  the  carcasses  left  by  their 


OUR  PROTOTYPES.  189 

more  powerful  fellows,  like  the  local  politicians  and  the 
henchmen  of  the  Conyngham's.  And  we  have  the  pork- 
opolis,  like  the  men  who  seize  every  thing  within  their 
reach,  utterly  regardless  of  the  rights  of  others,  and  who 
are  well-fed  and  fat  with  plenty,  and  yet  who  are  always 
grunting  and  rooting  for  more,  —  greedy  creatures,  always 
around  the  trough,  and  intent  only  on  rilling  their  stomachs 
and  their  pockets,  and  who  at  last  lie  down  and  die,  never 
having  once  in  their  lives  looked  up  and  enjoyed  the  bright 
sunshine  and  beautiful  blue  sky,  and  the  green  hills, 
nor  heard  the  sweet  songs  of  birds.  Then  I  have  said 
to  myself,  we  are  simply  animals,  nothing  more,  and  when 
we  die  we  have  no  more  guaranty  of  a  future  than  they 
have." 

Hamilton  said  this  in  a  half-joking  manner  that  never 
failed  to  nettle  is  wife.  Fannie  never  liked  to  hear  the 
future  state  handled  so  irreverently. 

"  I  do  not  want  to  hear  any  more  of  such  nonsense," 
she  interrupted.  "  I  am  used  to  it,  ma,  but  I  know  you 
are  not.  He  does  not  believe  one  word  he  says,  and  is 
only  talking  in  this  way  to  tease  us.  I  know  what  his  real 
feelings  are  in  reference  to  religion.  He  firmly  believes 
in  God,  and  in  the  plan  of  salvation  offered  through  our 
Saviour,  but  he  has  no  confidence  whatever  in  what  he 
calls  modern  Christianity.  I  tell  him  he  can  set  these 
modern  Christians  a  good  example  by  uniting  with  the 
church,  and  showing  them  how  much  better  it  is  to  be  a 
real  Christian  ;  but  he  says  the  class  of  men  with  whom  he 
would  necessarily  be  compelled  to  associate  in  the  church,  as 
a  rule,  are  persons  with  whom  he  could  never  be  congenial, 
and  are  generally  those  who  have  had  no  experience 
amongst  men  and  in  the  world  ;  and  that  by  nature  they 
are  so  timid  that  they  prefer  being  with  the  women  and 


190  ARMOUR. 

their  own  kind  of  people,  to  associating  with  more  rugged, 
masculine,  and  manly  natures ;  and  that  their  conversation 
and  manners  are  effeminate,  and  their  knowledge  of  men 
and  affairs  of  the  world  are  narrow,  the  views  held  by  them 
crude,  conceited,  shallow,  and  as  egotistical  as  young  col 
lege  graduates ;  that  their  company  is  insipid  and  stupid, 
and  that  their  childish  fussiness  and  silly  pretensions  of 
knowledge,  as  to  the  future  and  of  life,  disgusts  him.  lint 
I  tell  him  if  he  becomes  a  really  good  man  he  will  not 
think  that  way,  but  will  view  these  things  in  a  more  chari 
table  light." 

Larry  caressed  her  fondly  as  he  said,  quite  seriously, 
"  Well,  Fannie,  for  your  and  mother's  sake  I  am  going  to 
try  and  be  a  better  man  in  the  future.  I  will  give  the 
new  life  a  fair  trial." 

Hamilton  was  in  earnest,  and  from  that  day  forth  he 
was  a  changed  man.  He  gave  up  everything,  and  paid 
off  all  his  debts  as  far  as  his  means  would  allow,  and  hon 
orably  refused  to  avail  himself  of  a  legal  technicality,  by 
which  he  could  have  still  retained  a  large  sum  of  money  — 
in  contrast  to  the  custom,  so  prevalent,  of  forcing  creditors 
into  a  compromise,  after  which  to  bloom  out  afresh  in 
extravagant  display.  One  hardly  knows  which  to  be 
most  amazed  at,  the  unblushing  effrontery  of  such  com 
promises,  or  the  peculiar  mental  and  moral  make-up  which 
could  extract  pleasure  under  such  circumstances. 


CHOOSING  A  GOVERNOR.  191 


CHAPTER   XXX. 

CHOOSING    A    GOVERNOR. 

"  WHO  are  you  going  to  make  governor,  Malcolm  ? " 
asked  McKay,  Conyngham's  most  faithful  and  active  hench 
man,  as  the  two  sat  one  evening  in  the  latter's  cozy  library, 
while  discussing  the  political  affairs  of  the  state,  as  they 
would  the  management  of  a  small  country  store. 

"I  have  not  fully  made  up  my  mind  yet  who  would 
suit  me,"  replied  Conyngham.  "This  campaign,  however, 
will  not  be  near  as  expensive  as  the  last  one.  The  panic 
has  made  men  very  cheap.  The  only  expensive  item 

I    see  will  be  the  fixing  up  of  that  d d  Keith.     He 

has  complete  control  of  the  Molly  Maguire  arrange 
ment,  and  we  will  have  to  buy  him  up.  If  he  goes  against 
us  it  will  give  us  a  hard  tussle." 

"  I  don't  altogether  fancy  the  idea  of  dickering  with  such 
devils,  Malcolm,"  replied  McKay.  "  It  goes  against  my 
grain  to  have  anything  to  do  with  men  I  know  are  murder 
ers,  and  if  ever  the  people  should  connect  us  with  this 
business  I  doubt  very  much  if  they  would  not  make  short 
work  of  our  prospects  politically." 

"  Pshaw  !  McKay ;  you  are  always  and  eternally  harping 
about  the  people.  Get  our  governor  in,  no  matter  how, 
and  let  the  people  go  to  the  devil.  They  are  nothing  but  a 
pack  of  fools  any  how.  You  listen  too  much  to  these  sore 
heads  in  the  party.  I  don't  humor  such  fellows,  but 
believe  in  putting  the  whip  to  them  when  they  begin  to 


102  ARMOUR. 

growl.  The  more  I  see  of  political  life  the  more  I  am 
convinced  that  these  people  like  you  all  the  better  for 
being  a  little  afraid  of  you,  and  in  the  future  I  intend  apply 
ing  the  lash  vigorously  to  some  of  these  kickers.  They 
want  a  good,  wholesome  lesson.  I  intend,  when  I  have  a 
clear  field  ahead,  to  show  them  who  is  their  master. 
There  will  be  no  more  of  this  billing  and  cooing  which 
father  believes  so  much  in.  When  a  dog  commences  to 
growl,  kick  him  effectually  at  the  start,  and  he  will  be  all 
right  afterwards.  But  show  you  are  afraid  of  him,  you  will 
have  plenty  of  trouble." 

"  How  would  Woods  fill  the  bill  ? " 

"  He  won't  do  at   all.     Too  d d   much  brains   and 

too  independent.  We  don't  want  that  kind  of  men  in  any 
important  office.  Such  men  always  give  us  trouble  and 
are  sure  to  go  back  on  us  after  we  elect  them.  Besides, 
the  people  have  an  idea  that  he  is  honest,  and  if  they 
once  get  that  into  their  heads  and  we  are  fools  enough  to 
to  start  him,  good-bye  Malcolm.  We  might  as  well  com 
mit  hari-kari  at  once." 

"Good  evening,  gentlemen.  Plotting  as  usual,"  ex 
claimed  a  dark,  sinister  looking  and  very  ordinary  man,  as 
he  carelessly  sauntered  into  the  room  and  seated  himself 
with  Conyngham  and  his  friend.  This  man  seemed  more  out 
of  place  than  McKay,  in  the  elegantly  appointed  library,  but 
his  free  and  easy  manner  was  explained  from  the  fact 
that  he  was  Conyngham's  private  secretary,  and  the  man 
Friday  who  did  all  his  master's  secret  and  least  reputable 
work. 

"  We  are  trying  to  save  the  people  the  trouble  of  choos 
ing  their  chief  magistrate,  and  Malcolm  thinks  Woods 
would  give  us  trouble  if  he  got  in.  One  thing  in  his  favor 


CHOOSING  A  GOVERNOR.  193 

is  that  he  would  not  be  very  expensive,  as  he  is  very  pop 
ular  and  stands  well  with  the  people.  I  think  we  can  hold 
him  level  on  that  transaction  last  winter,  but  Malcolm 
thinks  not." 

"  You  had  better  trot  out  the  noble  war  Governor. 
How  would  that  suit  the  dear  people  ?  "  sneered  Bare,  the 
secretary.  "What  trouble  he  would  have  given  us  if  your 
father  had  not  succeeded  in  driving  him  so  effectually  out 
of  the  party.  Lord,  how  the  old  man  did  kill  off  all  his 
rivals  !  It  makes  me  think  of  a  story  I  read  the  other  day 
of  an  old  Frenchman  who  when  dying,  was  asked  by  his 
clergyman  if  he  forgave  his  enemies,  and  to  the  reverend 
gentleman's  surprise,  well  knowing  his  revengeful  disposi 
tion,  remarked  that  he  had  none.  (He  had  killed  them  all.) 
Ferry,  McClurg,  and  Custis  gave  him  a  life-long  tug  for 
the  supremacy,  but  he  was  too  cunning  and  his  purse  was 
too  long  for  them.  For  a  man  to  get  along  as  the  old 
gentleman  did,  with  all  the  people  down  on  him  and  those 
fellows  laying  the  ropes  for  him  all  the  time,  took  good 
generalship  ;  but  he  was  too  smart  for  them.  It  would 
have  been  a  bad  old  time  for  him  if  the  office  had  de 
pended  on  the  popular  vote." 

"  Yes,"  laughed  Malcolm ;  "  and  I  am  afraid  your 
occupation  and  mine  would  be  gone  too." 

"  By  the  way,  I  saw  that  party  to-day,  and  he  says  Jack 
Keith  has  the  Mollies  well  in  hand,  and  not  only  expects 
you  to  come  down  handsomely,  but  to  guarantee  them  a 
pardon  if  any  of  their  deviltry  comes  to  light.  It  would 
be  a  very  bad  piece  of  business  for  us  if  this  transaction 
ever  becomes  known,"  nervously  remarked  McKay. 

"  It  would  not  bother  me  much  if  they  did  find  it  out 
What  are  they  going  to  do  about  it  ?  What  the  people  say 
don't  bother  me  a  particle  ;  never  did  nor  ever  will,"  con- 


194 


ARMOUR. 


tinued  Conyngham  excitedly.  "  If  I  can  get  my  man  in 
for  governor  this  time  I  will  be  in  a  position  where  I  can 
defy  them  hereafter.  How  would  you  like  Hausenploose 
for  governor  ? " 

"  The  very  man,"  exclaimed  McKay  and  Bare  at  once. 
"He  won't  be  likely  to  put  on  airs,  and  we  can  easily  manage 
him.  Besides  that,  he  has  the  soldier  element  with  him  ;  and 
he  is  very  ambitious  but  not  very  long-headed.  He  might  give 
us  more  trouble  if  he  took  a  notion  to  go  into  the  United 
States  Senate  some  of  these  days.  It  would  be  better  to 
get  him  switched  off  the  senatorial  course  as  he  might 
interfere  with  our  programme." 

"  Yes,"  said  Conyngham  ;  "  He  is  not  so  smart  but  that 
we  can  manage  him.  He  is  confiding  and  rather  dull,  and 
never  sees  too  far  ahead.  That  will  suit  us  exactly.  And 
as  McKay  says,  we  want  to  keep  an  eye  on  him,  and  switch 
him  off  if  he  tries  to  get  the  inside  track  of  us  on  the  sen 
atorial  business." 

"  He  is  very  fond  of  gore  and  fuss  and  feathers,  and  if 
we  give  him  a  chance  to  inspect  the  militia  often,  and 
plenty  of  reviews,  and  send  a  few  correspondents  along  to 
puff  him  on  his  fine  soldierly  appearance  and  horsemanship, 
he  will  not  bother  us  much  with  political  scheming.  If  he 
does,  we  can  take  care  of  him  easily.  I  don't  think  we 
can  get  a  safer  man." 

"  His  being  so  easily  managed  is  his  best  recommendation, 
next  to  the  soldier  vote  he  will  control.  While  he  looks  as 
wise  as  an  owl  he  has  about  enough  brains  to  make  a  respec 
table  associate  judge.  By  flattering  his  military  vanity,  as 
you  say,  and  by  promises,  we  can  lead  him  around  where 
we  wish.  He  will  submit  to  anything  for  an  office  or  a 
prospective  one,  and  like  the  crab,  he  can  walk  backward 
as  gracefully  as  forward." 


CHOOSING  A  GOVERNOR.  195 

And  thus  this  worthy  trio  of  three  as  ordinary  men  as  you 
could  pick  out  of  any  promiscuous  crowd,  with  the  ex 
ception  of  the  money  they  could  wield,  without  further 
consultation  with  any  one,  chose  the  next  governor  for 
one  of  the  largest,  most  populous  and  wealthy  States  in 
the  Union,  and  the  next  day  arranged  their  plans  for  his 
election.  McKay  had  the  vote  of  the  Mollies  solid  for 
the  Ring  candidate.  He  had  seen  Keith  and  "  fixed  it,"  as 
he  told  Conyngham.  Questor  had  selected  Hausenploose 
for  Conyngham  with  his  usual  sagacity.  He  was  the  right 
man  for  the  latter's  purposes. 

Ability  and  popularity  in  a  public  man  were  to  mark 
him  with  these  men  as  dangerous,  and  one  who  was  to  be 
strictly  watched  and  headed  off  before  he  became  too 
powerful  for  them. 

During  the  years  which  followed  the  Panic,  and  while 
the  great  mass  of  the  people  could  get  little  or  no  work, 
and  with  wages  at  ninety  cents  per  day,  wretched  and 
desperate,  in  striking  contrast  young  Conyngham  reveled 
in  luxurious  wantoness,  lived  in  princely  style  and  counted 
his  wealth  by  the  millions.  As  he  rolled  along  the 
streets  with  his  blooded  horses,  and  costly  equipages, 
poor  working  men  crowded  the  streets  hunting  work,  and 
with  their  wives  and  children  at  home  suffering  for  the 
necessaries  of  life,  they  could  but  bitterly  contrast  and 
envy  this  ill-gotten  and  flaunting  prosperity  with  their  own 
miserable  poverty  and  helplessness. 

On  one  side,  luxury  and  insolence ;  on  the  other  misery 
and  envy  —  not  the  envy  of  the  poor  at  the  sight  of  opu 
lence  they  could  not  reach,  but  the  envy  of  the  despoiled 
when  in  the  presence  of  the  despoiler. 

No  wonder  they  hated  Conyngham.  Unlike  Boss 
Tweed,  Boss  Conyngham  had  never  been  known  to  either 


196  ARMOUR. 

give  them  a  word  or  look,  much  less  anything  more  substan 
tial  ;  and  in  his  mammoth  business  establishments  Con- 
yngham  was  always  the  first  to  advocate  the  reduction  of 
workingmen's  wages.  He  despised  them,  and  took  little 
pains  to  conceal  it.  While  he  was  intensely  hated,  by 
cunning  and  rascally  manipulations  their  own  votes  con 
tinued  this  man  in  power.  The  people  knew  it,  but 
seemed  utterly  helpless  to  prevent  it ;  and  he  knew  it,  and 
by  his  manner  contemptuously  asked  them,  "  What  are 
you  going  to  do  about  ? " 

After  his  election,  Hausenploose  did  not  in  the  least 
disappoint  the  expectation  of  the  Ring. 

Questor  knew  his  man  well.  He  was  simply  a  figure 
head  for  Conyngham.  They  could  not  afford  to  jeopard 
ise  their  interests  by  allowing  in  the  high  offices  of  the 
State  popular  men  who  had  brains  and  back  bone.  They 
might  thwart  the  many  schemes  of  the  Ring  for  plunder 
ing  the  state  treasury,  or  stand  in  the  way  of  Malcolm's 
ambition. 

Father  and  son  now  controlled  their  State  absolutely. 

What  a  speaking  commentary  on  the  power  of  money  ! 


SIC  TRANSIT  GLORIA.  197 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 

SIC  TRANSIT   GLORIA, 

Six  years,  with  all  their  various  changes  in  human  at 
fairs,  had  flown  by. 

Littlejohn's  senatorial  career  had  drawn  to  a  close,  and 
as  Goforhim  had  shrewdly  predicted  of  him,  he  had  dis 
appointed  every  one  but  his  enemies.  That  he  had  legal 
brains  and  abilities  even  his  enemies  admitted,  and  if  he 
could  have  added  popular  manners,  and  shown  less  ser 
vile  obsequiousness  to  the  corporation  which  had  placed 
him  in  the  senate,  and  whose  interests  alone  he  faith 
fully  represented,  to  the  utter  neglect  of  his  sworn 
duties  to  the  people,  he  would  have  won  a  high  place 
amongst  his  fellow  senators,  and  the  respect,  honor,  and 
everlasting  gratitude  of  the  people.  It  was  in  his  power 
here  to  have  given  a  death  blow  to  the  Conynghamism 
which  had  cursed  the  State  for  so  many  years,  and  would 
have  encouraged  the  people  in  breaking  up  this  insolent 
and  infamous  power. 

Littlejohn  was  too  ambitious  and  selfish,  for  his  own 
interests,  and  had  endeavored  to  keep  in  with  both  the 
railroad  company  and  the  Conynghams,  but  possessed  so 
little  tact  as  to  openly  quarrel  with  the  younger  Conyng- 
ham  at  the  very  outset  of  his  career.  The  latter's  power 
he  had  of  late  completely  underestimated. 

That  two  men  so  thoroughly  selfish,  self-seeking,  and 
greedy  for  power  as  Littlejohn  and  Malcolm  Conyngham 


1 98  ARMOUR. 

would  naturally  quarrel  when,  in  the  course  of  time,  their 
interests  should  conflict,  was  very  possible;  but  Little- 
John's  arrogance  and  blindness  hastened  the  denoue 
ment. 

During  the  six  years  of  his  senatorial  term,  Cbnyng- 
ham  Jr.,  never  failed  to  neutralize  all  the  former's  attempt 
to  make  himself  a  power  at  home.  Worse  still,  Little- 
John's  exalted  position  completely  upset  him.  The  man 
scarcely  knew  what  to  get  at,  and  made  himself  supremely 
ridiculous  by  his  arrogance,  childish  vanity,  and  assump 
tions  of  profound  wisdom  and  superior  piety. 

It  was  an  able  lawyer,  and  a  self-important,  self-seek 
ing  man  in  a  very  high  office,  which  required  an  entirely 
different  order  of  talent  to  adorn  it  from  what  he  pos 
sessed.  As  a  statesman,  he  proved  a  miserable  failure ; 
and  as  a  politician,  even  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word, 
he  proved  the  worst  blunderer,  and  the  most  tyranni 
cal  one-man  power  the  State  had  ev  er  known,  —  until 
Malcolm  Conyngham  afterwards  entered  the  field.  The 
latter  improved  so  much  on  Littlejohn's  ideas  in  this 
respect,  that  with  his  power,  backed  by  his  great  wealth, 
he  was  enabled  to  build  up  and  solidify  the  "one-man 
power,"  which  Littlejohn  had  vainly  attempted  for  lack  of 
cunning  and  money. 

No  cross-roads  postmaster  could  be  appointed  in  his 
native  county  without  first  consulting  and  securing  the 
approval  of  the  little  man  in  Washington,  where  one 
would  have  supposed  his  exalted  position  and  elevated 
surroundings  would  have  lifted  him  above  the  petty  strife 
of  local  politics. 

Every  man  who  had  dared  to  cross  Littlejohn's  path 
was  now  made  to  feel  the  great  man's  scorn  and  contempt, 
while  those  who  were  in  his  power,  or  who  had  refused 


SIC  TRANSIT  GLORIA.  199 

implicit  submission,  were  pursued  and  punished  with  a 
rancor  and  malice,  that  would  have  shamed  a  savage. 

No  one  was  permitted  to  even  make  a  suggestion  rela 
tive  to  the  affairs  of  their  own  township  j  and  men  who 
had  for  years  and  a  life-time  supported  and  worked  for 
the  party  were  treated  as  impertinent  meddlers. 

\Yhen  constituents  called  on  him  in  Washington,  if  they 
did  not  come  away  with  a  very  good  opinion  of  their  own 
miserable  insignificance  and  Littlejohn's  greatness,  it  was 
not  the  fault  of  the  latter. 

When  one  entered  his  committee-room,  the  distinguished 
statesman  would  look  up  from  his  desk  with  an  unmis 
takable  air  that  plainly  said,  "Well  sir!  what  have 
you  got  to  say  ?  Say  it  quickly.  I  am  astonished  at 
your  impertinence.  Don't  you  know  that  the  business  of 
the  whole  country,  from  Maine  to  California,  is  interrupted 
by  your  presence  ? " 

He  was  absolutely  intoxicated  with  power  and  gratified 
vanity.  He  could  not  stand  elevation. 

Thus  was  missed  one  of  the  finest  opportunities  that 
ever  presented  itself  for  breaking  up  the  most  infamous 
Ring  that  ever  enchained  a  long-suffering  people,  or  cursed 
and  disgraced  a  noble  old  commonwealth,  —  a  Ring 
that  had  made  her  name  a  hissing  by-word  and  a  re 
proach  amongst  her  sister  States,  and  her  great  power 
a  mere  cypher  in  the  general  government,  and  which,  for 
nearly  thirty  years,  had  compelled  her  to  occupy  a  humil 
iating  and  second-rate  position. 

Littlejohn  had  obtained  considerable  notoriety  as  one 
of  a  committee  sent  to  the  South  to  inquire  into  the 
Ku-Klux  outrages,  but  beyond  that  he  was  never  heard 
of.  His  whole  undivided  time  and  attention  were  given 
towards  the  helping  on  of  the  great  schemes  of  the  cor- 


200  ARMOUR. 

poration  he  served,  and  for  which  purpose  he  had  been 
placed  in  the  senate. 

\Yhen  free  from  his  corporation  duties,  his  spare  time 
was  entirely  given  to  having  his  photographs  taken  in  every 
imaginable  statesman-like  attitude ;  and  glass  paper-holders 
with  the  Honorable  John's  fiercely  wise  and  senatorial 
countenance,  glared  at  one  from  every  corner  grocery  and 
law  office  in  the  State.  It  was  a  well-known  fact,  that 
in  order  to  secure  the  great  man's  favor,  the  first  step  nec 
essary  to  procure  an  interview,  was  to  request  of  him  his 
photograph. 

At  the  expiration  of  his  first  term,  and  when  he  retired 
to  private  life,  he  had  one  brother  a  collector  in  a  South 
ern  port,  who  had  been  a  blatant  rebel  during  the  war  ;  one 
son,  a  clerk  on  his  committee,  and  another  a  clerk  under  a 
brother-in-law,  for  whom  he  had  procured  a  fat  appointment 
in  the  treasury,  another  brother-in-law  in  the  United  States 
mint,  and  a  cousin  he  made  United  States  District  At 
torney  in  the  western  part  of  the  State.  He  would  have 
appointed  more  from  his  family,  but  he  had  exhausted  all 
the  available  male  material  on  both  sides  of  the  house. 
And  yet  he  wondered  why  the  people  were  dissatisfied,  and 
disapproved  of  his  efforts  in  their  behalf,  —  a  fact  he  was 
not  thoroughly  made  aware  of  until  he  canvassed  the 
State  at  the  expiration  of  his  term,  with  high  hopes  of 
again  resuming  his  former  position.  The  only  persons 
he  did  please,  and  whom  he  served  faithfully,  were  the  cor 
poration  to  which  this  patriot  and  statesman  belonged,  and 
so  well  did  he  serve  the  interests  of  his  masters,  that  they 
rewarded  him  after  the  people  had  emphatically  refused  to 
give  him  a  second  term,  by  making  him  a  high  official  on 
their  road.  And  to  this  day  he  declaims  against  the  peo 
ple  as  the  most  ungrateful  of  ingrates. 


SSC   TRANSIT  GLORIA.  2oi 

Goforhim  and  Fox  had  closely  watched  his  career  with 
jealous  eyes,  and  they  never  missed  an  opportunity  of  ex 
posing  to  the  people  his  ridiculous  vanities  and  preten 
sions.  They  showed  up  his  truckling  servility  to  the  cor 
poration  he  served,  in  a  manner  that  he  who  ran  could 
read. 

"  How  much  a  man's  carriage  and  air  of  conscious  su 
periority  depends  on  success  or  failure."  remarked  Ham 
ilton  to  his  wife,  as  Littlejohn  walked  in  front  of  them 
to  church,  the  Sabbath  before  the  question  as  to  whether 
Littlejohn  would  succeed  himself  in  the  senate  or  not  was 
definitely  determined. 

"  He  is  certainly  doomed  to  an  overwhelming  defeat,  but 
he  does  not  think  so.  Fanny,  look  at  him  now,  as,  confi 
dent  of  success,  he  saunters  carelessly  along  with  his  beaver 
tipped  gayly  to  one  side,  and  twirling  that  little  cane  so 
jauntily,  while  blandly  and  patronizingly  nodding  to  his 
friends  and  fellow-citizens.  Wait  until  next  Sunday  and 
then  see  the  difference  in  the  gentleman's  air  one  short 
week  will  make." 

A  few  days  after  the  avalanche  descended,  and  Little 
john  was  so  deeply  buried  out  of  sight  that  to  this  day  he 
has  never  been  heard  from. 

When  the  news  of  his  overwhelming  defeat  was  assured, 
Goforhim  and  Fox  procured  a  calithumpian  and  the  vil 
lage  brass  band,  and,  to  the  great  indignation  of  the  Hon 
orable  John,  proceeded  to  his  residence,  where  six  short 
years  before  the  people  had  shouted  themselves  hoarse 
sounding  his  praises.  The  crowd  howled  and  cat-called 
him,  arid  would  have  added  still  greater  indignities,  if  he 
had  not  taken  the  timely  precaution  and  closed  up  his 
house.  Bonfires  were  lit,  and  the  bands  made  the  night 
air  hideous  with  "  As  Johnny  comes  marching  home,"  for 


202  ARMOUR. 

an  hour.  It  was  a  perfect  pandemonium  —  toolings  of 
horns,  crowing  of  roosters,  braying  of  asses,  bleating  of 
sheep,  and  bawling  of  calves,  could  have  been  heard  for  a 
mile  around.  It  was  simply  hideous. 

"Truly,"  as  Larry  had  remarked  to  his  wife  the  previous 
Sabbath,  "  a  man's  bearing  in  life  depends  in  a  great  meas 
ure  on  his  success  and  non-success."  The  following  Sun 
day  Littlejohn's  appearance  was  really  pitiable.  He  was 
the  most  crushed  and  insignificant-looking  individual  on 
the  street.  The  cane  had  been  left  at  home,  the  hat  was 
pulled  well  down  over  the  eyes  and  set  scrupulously 
straight,  as  he  sadly  meandered  to  church,  glancing  fur 
tively  and  timidly  at  each  passer-by,  like  one  who  had  been 
detected  in  some  disreputable  business.  The  man  really 
seemed  to  have  lost  several  inches  in  his  height. 

Littlejohn  soon  resumed  his  natural  level,  and  the 
country  breathed  free  again  — "  sic  transit  gloria." 

No  man  can  serve  two  roasters.  Neither  can  any  man 
serve  corporations  and  the  people  at  the  same  time. 


AFFAIRS  AT   WOOD  SIDE  COLLIERY.   203 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

AFFAIRS    AT   WOODSIDE   COLLIERY. 

NOTWITHSTANDING  trials  and  disappointments,  Fannie 
Hamilton  was  still  the  same  bright,  sensible,  little  Fannie 
Adair  of  old  ;  and  she  was  now  more  than  ever  absolutely 
necessary  to  Hamilton's  happiness. 

Persons  with  auburn  hair  and  abundance  of  coloring 
generally  retain  their  youthful  appearance  long  after  their 
blonde  and  brunette  companions  have  faded  into  sallow 
and  passte  middle-age.  A  stranger  would  have  taken  Fan 
nie  Hamilton,  in  her  thirties,  for  a  girl  in  her  teens.  Per 
haps  her  sunny  disposition  helped  to  give  this  impression, 
and  added  much  to  her  girlish  appearance. 

Hamilton  himself  had  regained  to  a  great  extent  the 
sprightliness  and  high  spirits  which,  as  a  young  man,  had 
made  him  so  great  a  favorite.  But  to  a  close  observer  the 
knit  brows,  tightly  compressed  lips,  and  the  sad,  almost 
stern,  expression  of  his  face,  when  in  repose,  marked  him 
plainly  as  a  one  who  had  known  sorrow. 

He  had  not  been  idle  during  these  years.  Securing  a 
position  in  one  of  the  large  collieries  around  Armour,  he 
had  endeavored  manfully  to  redeem  the  errors  and  follies 
of  his  early  manhood,  and  had  made  himself  so  familiar 
with  all  the  details  of  the  coal  business  as  to  understand 
it  thoroughly.  The  knowledge  of  human  nature  which  he 
had  acquired  during  his  former  diversified  and  checkered 
career,  combined  with  his  natural  quickness  and  adapta 
bility,  proved  very  advantageous  in  his  business. 


204  ARMOUR. 

With  the  miners  his  influence  was  unbounded;  and 
during  the  hard  times  which  succeeded  the  panic  of  '73, 
while  other  collieries  had  great  trouble  and  discontent  to 
contend  with  amongst  their  men,  Hamilton's  firm,  — 
owing  in  a  great  measure  to  his  kindly  mediation  between 
employers  and  employees, — had  very  little  or  no  trouble 
whatever. 

While  he  was  the  sincere  friend  of  both,  he  sternly  op 
posed  the  attempts  of  either  party  to  impose  upon  or  op 
press  the  other. 

His  own  painful  experience,  instead  of  embittering  him, 
as  it  generally  does  small  and  narrow  natures,  made  him 
feel  more  keenly  than  ever  for  the  sufferings  and  troubles 
of  others. 

The  office  at  Woodside  colliery,  where  Larry  was  em 
ployed,  was  crowded  by  the  friends  of  Manager  Skinner, 
who  were  noisy  and  boisterous  in  their  congratulations  to 
him  as  the  successful  competitor  in  a  contest  for  a  watch 
the  evening  before  in  Armour,  between  himself  and  the 
manager  of  a  neighboring  mine,  — for  the  purpose  of  buy 
ing  a  library  for  the  benefit  of  the  order  of  A.  O.  G.  F. 

Notwithstanding  that  Skinner  had  obtained  the  watch, 
«very  one  felt  that  his  opponent  should  have  had  it,  as  he 
was  superior  to  Skinner  in  all  that  constituted  an  honest, 
humane,  and  efficient  manager.  But  the  latter  was  a  born 
demagogue,  and  as  cunning  as  he  was  unscrupulous,  and 
had  obtained  votes  by  resorting  to  practices  his  more  hon 
orable  opponent  scorned  to  avail  himself  of. 

Several  days  following  the  watch  contest,  Skinner's  poor, 
little,  miserable  soul,  was  in  the  seventh  heaven  of  delight, 
and  on  receiving  a  letter  from  the  firm  expressing  great 
satisfaction  at  this  evidence  of  the  respect  and  esteem 
with  which  he  was  held  by  the  employees,  he  could  no 


AFFAIRS  AT  WOOD  SIDE  COLLIERY.      205 

longer  restrain  his  bursting  vanity,  and  rushed  over  to  the 
store  to  publish  this  endorsement  by  the  firm. 

"  Hamilton,"  remarked  Honesty  John  Miller,  —  as  they 
nicknamed  the  bookkeeper  of  the  firm,  —  "  this  will  be  a 
big  feather  in  Skinner's  hat,  —  won't  it?  There  will  be  no 
holding  the  fellow  now.  He  was  conceited  enough  before. 
What  do  you  think  of  these  watch  contests,  any  how  ? " 

"  I  think  it  is  nothing  but  levying  black-mail  on  all  who 
are  solicited  to  subscribe.  No  one  dare  refuse  for  fear 
of  losing  their  places  or  the  patronage  of  the  firm,  and 
incurring  the  displeasure  of  the  manager." 

"  Skinner  takes  two  or  three  clerks  from  the  store,  paid  by 
the  firm,  sends  them  off  to  the  mines  around  to  beg,  coax, 
and  intrigue  for  money  to  buy  votes  to  secure  him  this 
watch  and  the  endorsement  it  will  give  him  as  a  popular 
manager.  Meanwhile,  the  store  is  neglected,  customers 
not  waited  on,  take  their  trade  elsewhere,  and  at  the  end 
of  the  month  the  miners  are  put  in  hard  places  for  not 
leaving  more  of  their  money  at  the  company's  store.  Then 
these  clerks,  to  curry  Skinner's  favor,  extol  him  to  the  skies, 
when,  in  face,  their  hate  is  only  exceeded  by  their  fear  of 
him.  They  spend  days  in  the  neighboring  mines,  throwing 
broadside  hints  that,  in  the  opening  of  the  new  mines, 
Skinner  would  likely  have  plenty  of  easy  places,  and  that 
he  never  forgets  a  friend,  and  so  on  and  so  on.  Don't  you 
remember  that  Englishman  —  you  thought  he  had  such  a 
good,  manly  face  —  who  was  in  here  two  weeks  ago  ?  " 

"  I  believe  I  do,"  replied  Hamilton.  "  There  were  two 
of  them  together.  Skinnner  badgered  them  a  good  deal 
for  refusing  to  contribute  anything." 

"  Yesterday  both  came  in  and  got  their  due-bill.  Skin 
ner  had  sweated  them  out." 

'    r:  '   was   too   bad,"     said    Hamilton;    "if   the  firm 


206  ARMOUR. 

knew  such  things  were  going  on  they  would  send  him  away. 
They  are  honorable  men  and  would  not  tolerate  such 
work." 

"  Hut,"  said  Honesty  John,  "the  amusing  part  of  the 
business  is  that  the  firm  has  to  furnish  the  money  for  an 
endorsement  of  its  own  manager." 

"  How  much  had  tha'  Englishman  coming  to  him  —  do 
you  remember?  "  asked  Hamilton. 

"  About  twenty-five  dollars,"  replied  Honesty  John. 

"  Do  you  know  who  cashed  the  due-bill  for  him  ? " 

"  Young  Edwards,  I  believe.  He  wanted  to  go  away  the 
next  day  in  order  to  get  a  job  waiting  for  him  over  at 
C — ,  and  complained  about  the  way  one  of  the  clerks 
skinned  him  ;  and  I  know  Edwards  is  the  only  one  who 
has  the  money  to  cash  that  amount  for  him." 

"  How  deep  do  you  suppose  he  cut  ?  " 

"  Five  dollars,  he  told  me." 

"  Five  dollars  for  twenty  —  one  week!  I  tell  you  Hon 
esty,'1  said  Hamilton  warmly,  "this  due-bill  skinning 
ought  to  be  punished  with  the  penitentiary.  The  poor 
miners  have  hard  enough  times  to  get  along,  between  the 
store  and  order  system,  without  these  sharks'  assistance.  I 
often  wonder  if  these  unscrupulous  managers  are  not  fre 
quently  in  cahoot  with  the  Skinners,  or  in  fact  often  the  real 
skinners  themselves.  I  believe  the  store  and  order  system 
are  the  prolific  source  of  most  of  the  troubles,  in  our  mining 
region,  between  the  operators  and  their  men." 

In  the  collieries  as  well  as  amongst  the  large  iron  works 
around  Armour,  Hamilton  daily  witnessed  the  untold  evils 
and  oppressive  exactions  of  the  iniquitious  store  and  order 
system,  which  practically  reduces  the  laboring  man  to  a 
state  of  humiliating  serfdom,  if  not  to  actual  slavery. 

The  wives  of  these  men,  often  unable  to  read  or  write  a 


AFFAIRS  AT  WOOD  SIDE  COLLIERY.     207 

word  in  their  own  language,  much  less  in  English,  are  fur 
nished  with  pass-books  and  perfectly  ignorant  of  either 
prices  or  quality  of  the  articles  and  material  sold,  buy  with 
the  recklessness  and  prodigality  such  a  system  invariably 
begets,  and  are  utterly  at  the  mercy  of  operators'  managers 
or  clerks,  who  charge  what  they  please. 


208  ARMOUR. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

THE  CURSE  OF   MONOPOLY. 

HAMILTON,  after  a  practical  experience  in  the  coal  busi 
ness,  was  now  thoroughly  versed  in  all  its  various  details, 
and  was  known  throughout  the  region  as  an  honorable, 
independent,  and  upright  business  man. 

A  gentleman  possessing  considerable  capital,  desiring  a 
partner  who  understood  the  coal  business,  proposed  to  him 
a  partnership  on  very  favorable  terms.  With  the  advice  of 
the  railroad  company's  civil  engineer  they  purchased  large 
tracts  of  valuable  coal  lands  along  a  proposed  route  of  a 
new  branch  about  to  be  built  by  the  company,  and  which 
had  already  been  surveyed,  and  upon  which  work  was 
soon  to  be  commenced. 

To  their  surprise  and  astonishment,  after  their  purchases 
had  been  completed,  the  road  was  resurveyed,  and,  for  some 
ostensibly  technical,  reason,  was  so  changed  as  to  compel 
Hamilton  and  other  parties  to  build  some  miles  of  rail 
road. 

The  real  reason  why  the  route  was  changed  was  the  pur 
chase  of  large  tracts  of  coal  land,  in  the  locality  of  the  new 
route,  by  certain  parties  who  were  acting  in  the  interest  of 
the  leading  officials  of  the  great  railroad  monopoly,  which 
controlled  the  State. 

The  consequence  was,  that  in  building  their  own  route, 
Hamilton  and  his  friends  made  sad  inroads  on  their  capital 
at  the  very  time  they  needed  it  most.  Here  their  real 


THE  CURSE  OF  MONOPOLY:  209 

trouble  only  commenced.  Entering  as  they  did  into  com 
petition  with  this  mammoth  monopoly  they  found,  as  other 
individuals  had  done  before  in  the  iron  and  all  other 
businesses,  that  when  a  railroad  official  or  his  kinsman 
is  interested  in  the  same  business  it  is  folly  to  endeavor 
to  compete  with  them. 

They  were  harrassed  at  every  step  by  their  powerful 
rivals.  When  business  was  brisk,  or  in  the  midst  of  a 
large  contract,  while  cars  were  blocking  up  the  sidings  of 
their  rivals,  they  were  compelled  to  lie  idle  for  days  for  the 
want  of  them,  and  meekly  accept  what  cars  they  could  get. 
This  was  bad  enough  —  but  worse  still.  By  secret  com 
pacts  with  the  railroad  company  and  by  a  system  of  draw 
backs,  the  firms  in  which  the  railroad  officials  were  inter 
ested  were  enabled  by  lower  freight  rates  to  undersell  them 
in  every  market. 

After  a  few  years  of  ruinous  competition,  they  were 
finally  compelled  to  sell  out,  at  a  great  sacrifice,  to  their 
rivals. 

The  corporation  had  crushed  them  and  added  another 
business  firm  to  the  innumerable  victims  of  a  cruel  sys 
tem  of  monopoly. 

All  industries  are  at  the  mercy  of  the  railroads,  and 
more  particularly  the  coal  and  iron  interests. 

Everywhere  the  iron  heel  of  this  tyrant,  Monopoly,  ap 
peared.  There  was  no  business  but  what  felt  its  blight 
ing  influence.  Railroad  officials  and  those  who  were  within 
the  charmed  circle  were  secretly  interested  in  nearly  all 
the  large  paying  businesses.  Everything  was  done  quietly, 
and  on  the  surface  no  railroad  influence  was  apparent. 

How  on  a  salary  of  five  thousand  dollars  can  a  young  offi 
cial,  in  a  few  years,  make  millions  ! 


210  ARMOUR. 

How  can  they,  by  simply  writing  their  names  or  by  a 
word,  make  their  own  fortunes  and  unmake  others  ! 

Instead  of  the  plain  Republic  of  our  fathers  and  a 
"  government  of  the  people,  from  the  people,  and  for  the 
people"  it  was  of  late  plainly  apparent  that  these  monopo 
lists,  millionaires,  railroad  kings,  and  political  bosses  de 
sired,  and  were  endeavoring  to  form,  a  strong  centralized 
government  and  an  aristocratic  and  privileged  class  to  rule, 
to  the  exclusion  of  the  people.  And  as  there  could  be  no 
organized  or  hereditary  nobility  to  draw  the  line  between 
themselves  and  the  masses,  money  was  to  be  the  emblem 
of  distinction  and  the  golden  calf  the  object  of  worship 
and  the  symbol  of  power. 

Like  Louis  Bonaparte,  this  leagued  oligarchy,  while  pre 
tending  to  rule  by  the  free  vote  of  the  people,  had  seated 
themselves  in  and  perpetuated  their  power,  by  providing  a 
huge  corruption  fund  for  buying  up  the  politicians,  and 
through  them  for  ruling  and  controling  votes. 

These  grasping  combinations  of  capital  and  political 
power  were  fast  engendering  a  dangerous  feeling  of  discon 
tent,  regardless  of  party  affiliation-a  feeling  which  boded 
no  good  in  the  near  future. 

Hamilton  apprehended  the  very  worst  of  consequences 
if  the  people  did  not  soon  realize  the  extent  of  their  dan 
ger  and  unite  in  one  common  cause  to  curtail  and  restrain, 
with  a  firm  hand,  the  insolent  encroachments  and  tyranny 
of  monopoly.  He  felt  confident  that  the  party  which 
refused  to  espouse  the  cause  of  the  people  must  go  down 
under  the  coming  conflict  between  the  people  and 
monopoly. 

Sectionalism  and  slavery  were  dead,  and  as  both  parties 
had  their  best  and  most  prominent  men  from  the  people, 


AFFAIRS  AT  WOOD  SIDE  COLLIERY.     211 

and  as  our  greatest  men  had  espoused  and  upheld  the  great 
doctrines  of  Jefferson,  and  believed  in  the  rule  of  the  many 
and  not  the  privileged  few  before  the  war,  and  only  forsook 
the  faith  of  their  fathers  on  account  of  slavery,  he  could 
not  see  why,  now  that  slavery  was  a  dead  issue,  they  could 
not  resume  their  old  place  in  the  ranks  of  democracy  with 
a  clearer  conscience  than  ever.  If  they  considered  democ 
racy  sound  doctrine  with  the  festering  sore  of  slavery 
attached  to  it,  why  could  they  not  now  acknowledge  it  as 
the  party  of  the  people  more  than  ever. 

But  like  a  great  many  republicans,  Hamilton  still  felt  re 
luctant  to  leave  his  party  even  for  conscience'  sake  for  fear 
of  giving  the  government  over  into  the  control  of  those 
who  had  recently  endeavored  to  destroy  it.  And  while 
disgusted  at  the  venality,  wholesale  corruption,  and  tend 
ency  to  favor  corporations,  establish  aristocratic  distinc 
tions,  and  favor  the  few  against  the  many,  which  had  marked 
the  dominant  party's  career  ever  since  the  close  of  the 
Rebellion,  it  was  this  fear  alone  that  deterred  him  from 
openly  espousing  the  party  of  the  people.  But  he  resolved 
that  when  the  time  came  that  he  was  fully  satisfied  section 
alism  was  really  dead  and  the  South  thoroughly  united,  he 
.would  at  once  unite  with  the  democracy,  believing  it  the 
party  whose  doctrines  were  best  calculated  to  further  the 
interests  and  happiness  of  the  greatest  number. 

In  reply  to  the  oft-repeated  remonstrances  of  an  out 
raged  people  he  had  seen  their  appeals  treated  with  the 
silent  contempt  of  conscious  power,  while  their  oppressors 
sneeringly  asked  them  "  What  are  you  going  to  do  about 
it  ?  " 

He  believed  the  only  way  the  people  could  answer  this 
insolent  appeal  of  a  monopoly  party,  drunk  with  power 
and  success,  was  to  select  good  men  and  new  men  from 


212  ARMOUR. 

the  ranks,  and  have  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  those  pro 
fessional  leaders  of  the  democracy,  who  in  the  past  had 
shown  their  unfitness  to  be  leaders  by  their  truckling  ser 
vility  and  obsequiousness  to  corporate  power  and  affillia- 
tionwith  the  dominant  monopoly-party  when  it  suited  their 
interests  to  do  so,  regardless  of  the  welfare  of  their  con 
stituents  and  their  party. 


JAY  GOULD.  213 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

JAY   GOULD. 

FANNIE  had  been  busy  all  day  preparing  a  supper  for 
some  gentlemen  who  had  been  prominently  identified  with 
a  new  political  movement,  the  object  of  which  was  the 
dethronement  of  the  Conyngham  dynasty  throughout  their 
congressionial  district.  And  they  had  chosen  Hamilton 
as  their  standard-bearer  in  the  coming  contest. 

After  a  good  supper  the  gentlemen  distributed  them 
selves  in  groups  through  Hamilton's  pleasant  parlors,  and 
enjoyed  themselves  as  only  men  can  who  are  united  in  a 
common  cause,  and  agreeably  discussed  their  plans  and 
purposes  over  fine  Havanas  and  well-filled  stomachs. 

In  one  of  these  groups  in  a  far  corner  of  the  room  were 
our  old  friends,  Woods,  Mclntosh,  Ralph  Adair,  and  sev 
eral  other  gentlemen,  engaged  in  an  animated  discussion  of 
the  absorbing  topic  —  the  coming  political  campaign. 

"  Guess  who  they  are  going  to  run  against  you,  Larry?  " 
asked  Ralph. 

"  I  should  not  be  surprised  if  they  would  run  the  devil 
himself,  provided  they  succeeded  in  securing  him.  He 
has  all  the  qualifications  necessary  to  make  a  good  Con- 
nyngham  man,  and  would  suit  the  Ring  in  every  respect. 
All  they  require,  is  to  understand  their  simple  rule  of  three 
— '  addition,  division,  and  silence  '  —  and  not  to  be  fet 
tered  with  the  ten  commandments." 

"  Well,  who  do  you  think  has  been  elected  by  the  Ring 
to  fill  your  bill  ?  " 


214  ARMOUR. 

"  I  can  not  guess.  I  have  heard  several  persons  spo- 
k'  n  of  who  are  known  to  be  In  the  Ring's  f^vor.  But  I 
do  hope  they  will  put  up  a  decent  man ;  so  that  if  he  does 
defeat  me,  it  will  not  necessarily  be  a  humiliation.  There  is 
M une  honor  in  meeting  and  battling  with  a  foeman  worthy 
of  your  steel,  even  if  you  are  worsted  in  the  contest." 

"  Well,"  laughed  Ralph,  "you  have  got  him.  Goforhim 
is  to  be  your  man." 

"  What !  You  don't  say  so  ?  "  asked  Hamilton,  excit 
edly,  as  he  rose  to  his  feet.  "Why,  I  would  rather  run 
against  Malcolm  Conyngham  himself.  It  cannot  surely 
be  possible  he  would  thus  dare  to  insult  the  people  of  this 
district  by  running  such  a  man  as  Goforhim  for  Congress. 
Why,  the  people  will  bury  him  clear  out  of  sight.  This 
man  represents-  the  very  worst  elements  of  the  Ring. 
And  besides,  he  is  the  most  contemptible  character  in  the 
community.  Surely,  Conyngham  has  enough  manhood 
left  not  to  reward  that  scoundrel  for  his  dastardly  work 
some  years  ago.  I  often  wonder  how  Conyngham  could 
pass  that  matter  over  without  chastising  Goforhim.  But 
your  plotting,  calculating,  scheming,  money-making  men, 
are  generally  physically  timid.  During  our  war  you  would 
always  find  such  fellows  busy  contracting  and  making 
money  safe  at  home,  while  the  brave  men  were  in  front." 

"  I  believe  Larry  is  about  right  when  he  speaks  of  great 
money  makers  being  naturally  timid  physically,"  said 
Ralph.  "  There  was  one  of  the  Rothschilds,  it  is  said, 
who  had  himself  guarded  day  and  night,  and  whose  v  hole 
life  was  made  miserable  by  fear.  I  remember  once  of 
calling  on  Jay  Gould  on  some  business,  and  from  the  ac 
counts  of  him,  like  the  rest  of  people  who  had  heard  of 
hK  bold  operations  on  the  street,  I  expected  to  see  one 
whose  physique,  in  some  measure,  would  indicate  the 


JAY  GOULD.  21$ 

nerve  and  pluck  which  marked  his  bold  operations  on 
the  street.  On  mounting  the  steps  of  a  brown-stone, 
corner  house  on  Fifth  Avenue,  and  ringing  the  bell,  a  ser 
vant  noiselessly  opened  the  door,  and  ushered  me  into  a 
small,  but  well  furnished  parlor.  There  was  nothing 
different  in  the  size  and  appointments  of  the  room  from 
hundreds  of  other  parlors  of  men  in  comfortable  circum 
stances  throughout  the  city,  excepting  the  death-like 
stillness  which  prevailed.  The  carpets  were  so  thick 
that  no  foot-fall  could  be  heard.  The  very  walls  seemed 
padded.  No  child's  merry  laugh  resounded  through  this 
sepulchral  home,  nor  did  even  the  subdued  voices  of 
servants  break  the  painful,  oppressive  silence.  It  was  all 
utterly  unlike  the  splendid  home  that,  my  imagination 
had  pictured  as  the  abode  of  the  magnate  of  the  street, 
and  the  great  railroad  king,  who  now  controlled  more 
miles  of  railroad  and  telegraph  than  any  other  individual 
on  the  globe,  and  whose  name  is  the  synonym  of  more 
power  than  that  of  the  president  himself;  who  has  not 
only  his  judges  along  the  lines  of  the  railroads  he  controls, 
but  also  on  the  bench  of  the  most  august  tribunal  of 
the  land,  and  who,  in  fact,  to  a  very  great  and  dangerous 
extent  controls  and  bends  to  his  own  private  purposes 
even  the  national  legislature  itself. 

"  While  looking  at  a  picture,  although  hearing  no  sound. 
I  suddenly  experienced  an  undefinable  sensation  of  an 
other's  presence  ;  and  as  I  turned,  I  saw  timidly  approach 
ing  me  a  little,  insignificant-looking  person,  with  a  shrinking, 
hesitating  manner,  and  a  searching,  uneasy  glance  from 
rather  soft  and  effeminate  dark  eyes. 

"  Here  before  me  stood  the  man  who  had  wrecked  more 
fortunes,  and  ruined  more  reputations,  and  driven  to 
prison  and  to  untimely  deaths  and  dishonored  graves 


2i6  ARMOUR. 

more  promising  business  men,  and  who  had  beggared 
more  wealthy  families,  and  made  more  human  misery, 
than  any  other  one  man  in  the  country.  This  little,  insig 
nificant,  diminutive,  and  furtive,  hare-like  creature,  stand 
ing  shrinkingly  and  with  down-cast  eyes  before  me,  looking 
almost  ready  to  fly  at  a  loud  or  angry  word,  was  the  great 
Jay  Gould  ! 

"  Any  enterprise  this  man  chose  to  attack  and  destroy 
was  a  helpless  victim,  and  he  pursued  his  nefarious  and 
ghoul-like  business  mercilessly  and  heartlessly. 

"  In  a  voice  scarcely  above  a  whisper  he  answered  in 
monosyllables  some  questions  I  asked,  and  at  the  sound 
of  his  own  voice  glanced  fearfully  around  as  if  pursued 
by  some  Nemesis. 

"  Was  he  thinking  of,  or  apprehending  the  fate  of  his 
partner  ? 

"  I  was  never  so  perfectly  surprised  in  my  life,  and  could 
scarcely  realize  that  this  was  the  bold  operator  whose 
name  carried  terror  on  the  streets,  and  whose  fiat  made 
and  unmade  fortunes  in  an  hour.  This  was  the  ideal  hero 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  the  hero  of  the  people  who 
worshipped  the  golden  calf  and  recognised  the  dollars 
as  king." 

"  Even  if  Conyngham,"  said  Hamilton,  "  was  too  timid 
to  resent  such  an  attack,  I  never  believed  it  possible  that 
he  could  be  so  lost  to  all  sense  of  manhood,  as  to  stoop 
to  ally  himself  with  this  man  Goforhim,  and  endeavor  to 
force  him  into  Congress  against  the  sentiments  of  an  out 
raged  community." 

"Pshaw  !  "  said  Ralph,  impatiently,  "I  always  told  you, 
Larry,  that  Malcolm  Conyngham  would  do  anything  for 
money  or  power.  He  don't  feel  about  these  matters  as 
other  people  would.  So  he  is  successful  that  is  all  he 


JAY  GOULD.  217 

cares  for,  if  he  makes  money,  or  acquires  more  power  he 
does  not  care  a  picayune  what  people  say  or  think ;  and 
you  can  make  up  your  mind  that  his  intentions  are  to 
give  you  one  of  the  dirtiest  campaigns  that  the  State  has 
ever  known.  When  he  takes  up  a  man  like  Goforhim, 
depend  upon  it,  a  cesspool  is  to  be  opened  upon  you. 
There  is  nothing  he  won't  do  to  vindicate  his  course  at 
home.  He  has  a  pride  in  that." 


218  ARMOUR. 


CHAPTER    XXXV. 

AN   UNEQUAL   CONTEST. 

THIS  impending  congressional  struggle  in  Conyngham's 
own  district  excited  great  interest  throughout  the  State  \ 
more  so  than  had  any  election  since  the  younger  Conyng- 
ham  became  such  a  power  in  political  affairs. 

His  influence  was  now  second  only  to  his  father's.  His 
pride  was  in  this  struggle.  Every  one  knew  he  would 
scruple  at  nothing  in  order  to  elect  his  man  by  such  a 
majority  as  would  at  once,  and  for  years  to  come,  stamp  out 
all  opposition  to  the  Conyngham  dynasty  in  that  district. 

It  was  an  unfair  trial  of  strength  between  the  people 
and  their  oppressors.  And  the  Conyngham's,  to  the  sur 
prise  of  every  one,  and  as  if  to  wantonly  insult  the  people 
and  flaunt  their  insolent  power  in  their  faces,  selected 
as  Hamilton's  opponent,  one  whom  every  man  in  the 
district  detested  and  despised,  —  in  fact,  the  last  man  in 
the  world  they  would  have  chosen  to  represent  them  in  the 
councils  of  the  nation.  The  anger  and  indignation  of 
every  one,  irrespective  of  parties,  were  universal  and  un 
bounded,  and  when  the  party  were  ordered  to  support  this 
creature  it  was  a  bitter  pill,  but  party  discipline  prevailed, 
and  the  lash  was  applied  unmercifully  to  the  kickers  and 
independent  men. 

Ralph  was  correct  A  more  infamous  campaign  as 
conducted  on  the  Conynghams'  part  had  never  been  known. 
Every  little  peccadillo  or  thoughtless  act  from  Hamilton's 


AN  UNEQUAL  CONTEST.  219 

boyhood  up,  although  innocent  and  trifling  when  under 
stood,  were  now  magnified  into  crimes.  He  was  carica 
tured  in  every  possible  way.  Lying  pamphlets  were  got 
ten  up  by  Goforhim  which  made  him  out  a  mos't  damnable 
villain,  a  worthless  drunkard,  a  broken-down  gambler,  an 
infidel,  "a  democrat  and  horse  thief,"  and  so  on,  until  the 
vocabulary  of  Billingsgate  was  completely  exhausted. 

On  the  day  of  the  election  votes  were  openly  purchased 
on  the  street. 

The  rough  element,  crazed  and  maddened  with  rum,  de 
terred  the  timid  and  more  respectable  element  of  both 
parties,  who  were  almost  to  a  man  in  favor  of  Hamilton, 
from  the  polls.  Laboring  men  were  threatened  with  the 
loss  of  their  work  by  the  corporations  —  iron  works,  and 
other  large  industries,  who  were  more  or  less  under  the 
control  of  the  great  railroad  corporation  which  had  pro 
vided  the  Conynghams  with  most  of  the  funds  they  were 
now  using  with  such  good  effect  in  demoralizing  the 
people.  Men  with  criminal  indictments  hanging  over  them 
on  the  docket  were  promised  immunity  from  their  crimes  ; 
and  almost  every  man  in  the  district  was  lied  to,  and  de 
ceived  by  the  most  reckless  promises  of  work  and  posi 
tion  if  he  would  only  vote  for  Goforhim.  Those  who  held 
offices  were  compelled  to  work  day  and  night,  and  pour 
out  their  money  like  water,  and  all  for  what?  To  elect 
Goforhim,  the  Ring's  candidate,  and  thus  vindicate  the 
Conyngham  rule,  and  proclaim  throughout  the  State  the 
power  and  popularity  of  the  Conyngham  dynasty,  who  mildly 
represented  the  revolt  and  indignation  against  their  rule 
throughout  the  State  as  merely  the  idle  vaporings  of  a  few 
disappointed  editors  and  office-seekers. 

To  the  surprise  of  the  people,  while  his  own  town  went 
solid  for  Hamilton,  and  his  county  did  wonders  for  him,  — 


220  ARMOUR. 

considering  the  odds  they  had  to  contend  with  and  the 
unscrupulous  methods  which  had  been  brought  to  bear 
against  him,  —  the  rest  of  the  district  went  overwhelmingly 
for  Goforhim. 

It  might  have  resulted  differently  had  Hamilton  listened 
to  the  advice  of  some  of  his  friends,  and  fought  the  devil 
with  fire.  He  had  plenty  of  material,  and  need  not  to 
have  drawn  upon  his  imagination,  as  his  opponent  did  in 
trumping  up  charges  against  him.  But  he  scorned  to  re 
sort  to  such  vile  methods. 

In  many  cases  workingmen  were  forced  to  vote  for  the 
Conyngham  candidates  by  open  threats  of  discharge ;  and 
few  men  dare  quarrel  with  their  bread  and  butter,  —  espe 
cially  if  they  have  a  large  family,  and  a  hard  winter  before 
them. 

As  Fannie  and  Larry  were  proceeding  to  church  the  fol 
lowing  Sunday,  Goforhim  was  met  on  the  way  receiving 
the  congratulations  of  the  members  of  the  congregation 
who  were  near  him. 

The  minister  stood  obsequiously  waiting  in  the  vestibule, 
and  after  shaking  hands  with  the  great  man,  he  kissed  the 
Conyngham  children. 

"  That  is  what  is  killing  the  church,  Fannie,"  said  Larry, 
bitterly.  "  Do  not  wonder  that  men  look  on  your  services 
as  a  mere  fashionable  dress  parade,  and  place  no  confi 
dence  in  either  their  sincerity  or  professions.  It  is  not  the 
infidelity  of  Ingersol,  or  the  inconsistencies  of  Beecher 
and  other  prominent  men  of  the  church,  that  are  the 
cause  of  the  church's  loss  of  influence  amongst  men.  It  is 
just  such  truckling  to  corruptly-acquired  power  and  ill-gotten 
wealth,  as  you  have  just  witnessed  this  morning  to  this  fel 
low  Goforhim  and  his  master,  by  your  ministers  and  the 
leading  elders  and  influential  people  in  your  congregations, 


AN  UNEQUAL  CONTEST.  221 

that  does  all  the  mischief.  These  people  know  as  well  as 
I  do  that  these  men  are  fairly  reeking  with  political  cor 
ruption  and  private  immorality,  and  that  they  have  in  the 
last  few  weeks  been  the  cause  of  more  drunkenness  and 
misery  than  any  other  set  of  men  throughout  the  country. 
Yet  as  they  are  successful,  these  Christians  —  God  save 
the  mark  !  —  are  amongst  the  first  to  offer  their  congratu 
lations." 

"  I  know  all  that,  Larry,"  gently  replied  Fannie  ;  "  and 
that  it  is  all  wrong ;  but  it  is  no  reason  for  censuring  all 
Christians,  you  know.  There  are  good  men  in  the  church 
who  despise  these  men  as  much  as  you  do." 

"  They  are  very  few,  and  if  they  do  they  take  good 
care  not  to  let  any  one  know  it.  If  the  preachers  had  a 
spark  of  manhood,  and  would  boldly  denounce  such  ras 
cality  from  their  pulpits  in  the  way  they  should  denounce 
it,  and  if  their  elders  unite  with  the  minister  in  the  good 
work,  and  assist  him  heart  and  soul,  and  treat  such  crea 
tures  as  they  deserve,  it  would  not  be  long  before  the  peo 
ple  would  take  the  cue,  and  there  would  in  a  very  short 
time  be  an  end  to  Conynghamism,  and  more  respect  for 
church  people  throughout  the  land." 

As  the  hymn  was  given  out,  and  the  congregation  began 
to  sing,  Hamilton  could  scarcely  repress  a  smile  on  look 
ing  around  and  seeing  Conyngham  and  Goforhim  singing 
away  for  dear  life,  and  with  unctuous  and  pious  counte 
nances  a  saint  might  have  envied, 

"  Let  sinners  take  their  course, 

And  choose  the  road  to  death, 
But  in  the  worship  of  my  God 
I'll  spend  my  daily  breath." 

This  was  bad  enough,  but  he  fairly  groaned  when  Gofor 
him,  who  was  a  professed  Christian,  and  never  failed  to 


222  ARMOUR. 

commune,  proceeded  to  take  the  penny  collection.  He 
firmly  believed  that  personal  prominence  in  church  affairs 
made  up  for  spiritual  deficiencies.  Exceedingly  vain  and 
fond  of  dress  as  he  was,  he  now  wore  a  white  necktie, 
imagining  that  thereby  he  added  to  his  new  dignity  ;  and, 
conscious  of  his  great  importance,  while  fairly  bursting 
with  gratified  vanity,  it  was  really  amusing  to  watch  this 
immaculate  Christian  statesman  while  he  proceeded  to 
hand  around  the  box. 

He  smiled  in  a  blandly  triumphant  manner  on  his  extin 
guished  rival  for  congressional  honors. 

After  an  earnest  exhortation  and  an  eloquent  appeal  for 
means  to  educate  the  colored  men  in  the  Linkum  Univer 
sity,  for  the  better  furthering  of  the  missionary  cause  in 
benighted  Africa,  a  fervent  prayer  was  offered  up  and  a 
bless'ng  asked  upon  our  President  and  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States  and  on  our  rulers  generally  ;  and  the 
congregation  was  dismissed. 


RING   DOWN  THE   CURTAIN.  223 


CHAPTER   XXXVI. 

RING    DOWN     THE    CURTAIN. 

GENERAL  Grant's  peculiar  taciturnity,  and  epigrammatic 
wisdom  had  been  so  much  lauded  by  the  country,  as  evi 
dence  of  genius  and  of  profundity  of  thought,  that  young 
Conyngham,  as  well  as  Questor,  endeavored  to  imitate  the 
great  man  in  this  respect. 

It  suited  the  former  wonderfully  well  to  assume  the  char 
acter  of  a  Sphynx,  as  he  had  no  conversational  powers 
whatever,  and  possessed  very  few  intelligent  ideas  outside 
of  routine  business  matters,  and  more  unfortunate  still,  he 
could  not  express  the  few  ideas  he  had  in  a  manner  either 
intelligent  or  attractive. 

These  two  worthies  invariably  listened  to  the  conversa 
tion  of  others  with  a  mock  gravity  and  an  owl-like  assump 
tion  of  superior  wisdom  which  were  not  only  ridiculous  but 
painfully  embarrassing  to  men  of  sense,  who  knew  that  it 
was  only  assumed  for  the  occasion,  and  were  perfectly 
aware  that  behind  this  shallow  mask  lay  nothing  but  the 
small  brains  and  low  cunning  of  the  pot-house  politician. 

Conyngham  was  neither  social  nor  convivially  inclined, 
and  when  people  called  on  him  either  in  a  business  or 
social  way,  he  rudely  answered  them  in  monosyllables,  and 
took  no  pains  to  conceal  the  fact  that  any  conversation 
which  did  not  bear  directly  on  his  own  selfish  interest 
bored  him,  much  to  the  discomfiture  and  embarrassment 
of  his  guests. 


224  ARMOUR. 

Had  he  moved  in  a  more  humble  sphere,  he  would  have 
been  compelled  to  act  less  boorishly,  but  his  wealth  and 
position  had  so  far  saved  him  from  being  forcibly  made  to 
understand  that  good  manners  were  as  essential  and  nec 
essary  to  men  in  his  position  as  to  those  who  were  less 
fortunate  in  a  worldly  point  of  view. 

Naturally  brusque  and  rude,  he  was  also  utterly  indiffer 
ent  and  callous  to  the  feelings  and  sufferings  of  others, 
and  his  uninterrupted  career  of  success  thus  far  had  con 
firmed  him  in  these  habits. 

One  rainy  evening,  two  gentlemen  hurried  into  the 
Lochibar  Hotel,  in  the  office  of  which  stood  Questor,  se 
renely  smoking  and  looking  as  profoundly  wise  as  usual, 
while,  with  a  patronizing  air,  he  listened  to  the  conversation 
of  several  prominent  politicians. 

"  I  would  like  to  see  you  for  a  few  minutes  on  important 
business,"  said  the  spokesman  of  the  party  which  had  just 
entered  the  hotel. 

As  he  hurriedly  whispered  these  words  to  Questor,  the 
latter,  with  his  usual  imperturbable  manner,  calmly  knocked 
the  ashes  from  his  cigar  and  quietly  remarked,  "  \\  hy, 
what 's  up  ?  You  appear  to  be  excited." 

"  Well,  I  have  good  reason  to  be  "  j»aid  the  new  comer, 
as  he  placed  his  arm  in  that  of  Questor,  and  drew  him 
away  from  his  companions.  "I  have  just  returned  from 
M — ,.md  K — V  attorney  says  if  the  old  man  don't  get 
him  a  pardon  he  '11  make  it  hot  for  u> 

"  The  d 1  you  say,"  exclaimed  Questor,  as  he  tc\.  .1 

uneasily  with  his  umbrella.  "  We  had  better  call  up  and 
see  Malcolm  at  once.  If  this  matter  should  get  out  just 
now  it  would  knock  his  senatorial  prospects  into  a  cocked 
hat.  Let  us  go  up  and  see  him." 


RING  DOWN  THE    CURTAIN.         225 

Speaking  a  few  hurried  words  to  their  companions,  the 
two  men  linked  arms  and  hurried  up  to  Conyngham's. 

As  they  entered  the  library,  they  found  that  gentleman 
sitting  smoking  by  a  cheerful  grate  fire,  and,  as  customary, 
he  looked  up  with  an  annoyed  and  provoked  expression 
at  their  entrance. 

Questor,  knowing  well  his  master's  disposition,  without 
further  preliminary  remarks,  made  known  the  object  of 
their  errand. 

As  he  finished  speaking,  Conyngham  merely  remarked, 
"  Is  that  all  ?  Why,  there  is  nothing  in  that  to  be  alarmed 
at,  that  I  can  see." 

"  I  don't  know  about  that,"  said  Questor,  thoughtfully. 
"  People  just  now  are  in  a  very  bad  humor  at  the  way  things 
have  been  going  for  some  time,  and  if  Keith  has  any  evi 
dence  which  would  in  the  slightest  degree  connect  us  with 
them  in  the  last  gubernatorial  campaign,  and  if  the  people 
hear  it  "— 

"  Well,  d-j — n  it,"  broke  in  Conyngham,  angrily,  "  if 

the  people  do  hear  it,  what  in  the  d 1  are  they  going  to 

do  about  it  ? " 

This  settled  the  matter  as  it  always  did. 

The  next  morning,  by  Conyngham's  instructions,  the  or 
acle  of  the  Ring  came  out  and  boldly  announced,  in  large 
head-lines,  that  the  murderer  Keith,  in  order  to  procure  a 
pardon  and  save  his  neck,  had  threatened  to  drag  Hausen- 
ploose  in  as  particeps  criminis  in  some  of  his  nefarious 
work  in  the  coal  regions. 

The  very  audacity  of  the  thing  took  the  people  entirely 
by  surprise,  and  while  no  intelligent  person  throughout  the 
State  doubted  for  a  moment  that  the  Conyngham  Ring  had 
had  some  arrangement  with  the  leaders  of  this  band  of 
T!1'!^.  in  ornVr  to  control  their  votes  during  the  campaign, 


226  ARMOUR. 

yet  as  Conyngham  had  so  often  insolently  and  defiantly 
replied  to  remonstrances  of  the  people, "  What  are  you  go 
ing  to  do  about  it  ?  " —  so  it  was  in  this  case. 

How  many  additional  murders  and  outrages,  that  were 
committed  by  these  wretches,  owed  their  origin  to  the 
encouragement  given  by,  and  political  affiliation  with,  the 
leading  officials  of  the  State,  no  one  will  ever  know. 

It  was  a  long  time  before  the  President  would  permit 
the  Conynghams  to  have  any  influence  with  his  adminis 
tration. 

Their  insolent  arrogance,  and  generally  unsavory  repu 
tation  had  prejudiced  him  violently  against  them ;  and, 
notwithstanding  his  well-known  weakness  for  very  rich 
men  and  the  blandishments  and"  arts  employed  by  the 
Conynghams  to  win  his  favor,  it  was  not  until  the  General 
began  to  scheme  for  a  third  time,  that  he  succumbed  to 
the  Conyngham  influence,  and  reluctantly  gave  to  the 
younger  Conyngham  a  position  in  his  cabinet  in  order  to 
conciliate  them,  and  to  secure  the  State  they  controlled 
in  his  favor. 

Young  Conyngham's  power  was  now  undisputed,  and  he 
reigned  supreme  throughout  the  State,  controlling  every 
thing,  and  ruling  everybody  with  an  iron  hand. 

The  people  were  but  clay  in  the  hands  of  the  potter, 
and  mere  ciphers  in  government  affairs. 

While  they  went  through  the  farce  of  holding  elections, 
Conyngham  had  everything  arranged  months  before  to 
suit  himself,  and  his  corrupt  tools  occupied  every  position 
of  influence  and  profit  throughout  the  State. 

These  rascals,  when  caught  up  and  exposed  in  their 
attempts  to  steal  millions  from  the  state  treasury,  under 
the  supervision  of  their  master  and  the  thin  guise  of  se 
curing  appropriations  for  laudable  purp«  ;i!!outcl 


RING   DOWN  THE   CURTAIN.          227 

to  pursue  unmolested  their  nefarious  schemes  of  self- 
aggrandisement. 

On  one  occasion,  owing  to-  the  vigilance,  fearlessness, 
and  honesty  of  one  man,  their  rascality  was  fully  exposed  ; 
and  their  bare-faced  attempts  to  bribe  some  members  of 
the  legislature,  brought  to  light. 

They  were  indicted,  tried,  and  sentenced  before  an  upright 
judge ;  but,  through  the  influence  Conyngham  brought  to 
bear  upon  the  board  of  pardons  and  a  facile  govern 
or,  these  stealers  of  millions  of  dollars  from  the  public 
treasury  were  allowed  to  go  free,  and  instead  of  wearing 
the  garb  of  convicts  and  looking  through  prison  bars,  as 
they  deserved,  they  were  congratulated  on  their  lucky  es 
cape  ;  and,  after  being  feted  and  flattered,  left  for  their 
homes  in  parlor  cars,  surrounded  by  rejoicing  friends. 

When  asked  by  the  latter  if  they  were  not  afraid  of 
the  people,  amidst  their  bumpers  of  champagne  they 
laughingly  replied,  "  Lord,  no  !  As  long  we  have  Con 
yngham  with  us,  what  are  they  going  to  do  about  it  ?  " 

A  few  days  afterwards,  two  poor  men,  with  large  families 
dependent  on  them  for  a  living,  were  sentenced  to  the 
penitentiary  for  eight  years  for  stealing  ninety  dollars  be 
tween  them. 

Not  belonging  to  the  Ring  or  being  of  any  political 
service  to  it,  there  will  be  no  question  as  to  their  serv 
ing  out  the  full  length  of  their  term. 

What  a  commentary  on  justice  under  the  corporation- 
Conyngham  rule  ! 

Is  it  not  abominable  that  these  men,  instead  of  watch 
ing  over  the  affairs  of  the  State,  encouraging  commerce, 
and  instructing  the  people  in  the  principles  of  liberty, 
and  giving  good  examples,  should  reduce  us  to  such  a 
condititon. 


228  ARMOUR. 

The  greatest  tyrant  in  English  history  never  excelled 
young  Conyngham  at  this  time  in  the  exercise  of  a  brutal 
lust  for  power.  An  able  historian  says,  "In  the  eyes  of 
George  III.  the  righteous  anger  of  the  people  was  only 
another  form  Of  disloyalty.  Intent,  heart  and  soul,  in  his 
favorite  scheme  for  establishing  a  system  of  personal  rule, 
under  which  all  the  threads  of  administration  should  cen 
ter  in  the  royal  closet,  he  entertained  an  instinctive  antip 
athy  to  high-minded  and  independent  men  of  all  political 
parties.  He  selected  his  instruments  amongst  those  who 
were  willing  to  be  subservient  because  they  had  no  self- 
respect  to  lose." 

"His  majesty,"  wrote  Burke,  "never  was  in  better  spirits. 
He  has  got  a  ministry  weak  and  dependent,  and,  what  is 
better,  willing  to  continue  so.  Serenely  satisfied  with  his 
success  in  weeding  out  of  the  government  everybody  whom 
the  nation  trusted  and  esteemed,  he  felt  it  an  insult  to 
himself  that  his  subjects  should  murmur  when  they  saw 
honest  and  patriotic  statesmen  forbidden  to  devote  their 
talents  to  the  service  of  the  public,  while  the  prosperity 
and  honor  of  the  country  were  committed  to  the  charge 
of  men,  not  one  of  whom  any  private  person  in  his  senses 
Viould  choose  as  a  steward,  or  receive  as  a  son-in-law." 

Compare  this  description  with  that  of  Conyngham  at 
this  time,  and  one  cannot  but  be  surprised  at  the  wonderful 
resemblance. 

The  elevation  of  such  a  man  to  power,  is  but  one  of  the 
inevitable  results  of  the  debasing  rule  of  monopoly,  and  a 
natural  outgrowth  of  the  spoils  system,  which  has  so  de 
moralized  public  sentiment  that  it  now  recognizes  the 
dollar  as  king,  and  worships  the  golden  calf  as  the  sym 
bol  of  power,  and  object  of  public  idolatry. 

When  the  President  visited  one  of  our  large  cities,  he 


RING  DOWN   THE    CURTAIN.  229 

became  so  disgusted  with  the  coarse  orgies  of  Conyng- 
ham's  venal  horde  of  office-holders  and  office-seekers,  that 
on  one  occasion,  at  a  public  dinner  given  by  these 
men  in  his  honor,  he  turned  on  his  heel  and  left  the 
room  in  utter  disgust,  and,  to  the  alarm  and  dismay  of 
Conyngham,  without  exchanging  a  word  with,  or  tasting  a 
single  viand  of,  his  would-be  hosts. 

At  another  time,  a  magnificent  public  reception  was  given 
him  by  these  same  men,  amidst  the  glare  of  thousands  of 
gas  jets,  splendid  music,  and  all  the  costly  accessories 
that  money  could  command.  The  box  occupied  by  Con 
yngham  and  his  family,  was  the  cynosure  of  all  eyes  ;  and 
by  the  strange  irony  of  fate,  here  beside  him,  robed  in  all 
the  dignity  and  grandeur  of  a  city  father,  stood  a  suc 
cessful  pawnbroker,  representing  the  power,  the  wealth, 
and  the  refinement  of  a  great  city. 

Here  stood  the  two  worthy  representives  of  political 
corruption,  and  the  worship  of  Mammon.  The  national 
government  represented  by  a  successful  note-shaver,  under 
the  pseudo  patronymic  of  national  banker,  and  the  munic 
ipal  government  by  a  successful  pawnbroker  —  by  the  king 
of  the  six  gilt  balls,  and  the  king  of  the  three  gilt  balls  ? 

Let  us  cover  our  faces,  and  "  ring  down  the  cun*iix." 


230  ARMOUR. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

THE  TIDE  TURNS. 

\VHKN  the  time  arrived  for  the  nomination  of  another 
president,  like  a  feudal  baron  of  old  gathering  his  horde 
of  corrupt  office-holders  and  petty  bosses,  Conyngham 
inarched  boldly  into  the  presidential  convention,  and,  in 
conjunction  with  an  insolent  boss  like  himself  from  a 
neighboring  State,  he  endeavored,  and  once  more  suc 
ceeded  in  defeating  the  plainly  expressed  will  of  the  peo 
ple  by  forcing  upon  them  the  nomination  of  a  man  for  the 
presidency,  of  whom  the  people  knew  little  or  nothing,  as 
against  their  chosen  leader. 

The  secret  of  the  opposition  to  the  latter  gentleman  on 
the  part  of  Conyngham  and  his  fellow  boss,  was  owing  to 
the  fact  that  they  could  not  use  him,  and  to  a  mean  and  un 
manly  jealousy  of  his  brilliant  talents  and  popularity,  which 
brought  into  vivid  relief,  and  in  a  way  not  at  all  flattering 
to  their  vanity  their  own  shallow  pretentiousness  and 
unworthiness. 

Here,  in  endeavoring  to  force  the  iniquitious  unit  rule, 
he,  for  the  first  time  in  his  public  career,  received  a  severe 
check,  and  a  forcible  reminder  of  the  fact  that  the  people 
were  beginning  to  awaken  from  their  past  degradation. 

If  he  had  been  wise,  he  would  have  now  paused,  and 
henceforth  modified  his  domineering  and  insolent  preten- 
tions  ;  but,  completely  intoxicated  with  power  and  suci 
he  deemed  himself  invincible,  and  with  a  singular  short- 


THE  TIDE  TURNS.  231 

si^htedness  he  sought  to  revenge  this  insubordination  in 
the  party  by  wielding  the  lash  most  unmercifully  on  all 
who  had  opposed  him.  And  thus,  in  his  blind  infatua 
tion,  commenced  with  his  own  hands  to  dig  his  future 
political  grave. 

To  the  great  amusement  of  the  people,  and  the  bitter 
chagrin  of  Conyngham  and  his  fellow-boss,  the  President, 
after  his  election,  utterly  refused  to  recognize  their  claims 
on  his  administration. 

In  vain  the  neighboring  boss  sulked,  and  stood  on  his 
dignity,  while  young  Conyngham  and  old  Conyngham  in 
turn  beseeched,  and  swore  around  the  White  House. 

It  was  all  to  no  purpose. 

After  all  his  treachery  and  intriguing,  Malcolm  now  saw 
slip  through  his  grasp  the  control  of  the  United  States 
treasury,  the  ambition  of  his  life.  Once  in  possession  of 
the  money  bags  of  the  nation,  then,  and  only  then,  would 
the  insatiate  greed  of  his  avaricious  and  sordid  soul  be 
satisfied. 

In  his  desperation  he  sent  for  his  private  legislature  to 
meet  him  in  the  capital,  and  like  the  obedient  spaniels, 
they  were,  they  came  at  their  master's  bidding,  each  one 
wearing  his  master's  collar,  and  with  them  at  his  back  he 
beseiged  the  President  day  and  night,  only  to  be  calmly 
yet  firmly  refused. 

While  listening  respectfully  to  their  clamors,  the  Presi 
dent  firmly  declined  to  even  think  for  a  moment  of  placing 
a  man  so  notoriously  corrupt  and  venal  at  the  head  of 
the  finances  of  the  nation. 

Conyngham's  prestige  was  now  seriously  damaged. 
He  had  not  proven  as  cunning  and  as  far-seeing  as  his 
father,  or  else  the  times  had  changed,  and  the  day  for 
the  successful  accomplishment  of  big  political  results  by 


232  ARMOUR. 

the  peculiar  method  of  the  Conynghams  was  passing 
away. 

For  several  years  the  young  man  was  compelled  to  re 
main  in  humiliating  obscurity. 

The  elder  Conyngham  then  endeavored  to  obtain  an 
important  foreign  mission,  in  order  that  the  son  might 
succeed  his  father  in  the  senate ;  but  in  this  direction  they 
were  also  most  ignominiously  snubbed,  to  the  great  de 
light  of  every  independent  man  in  the  country. 

The  people  chuckled  good-humoredly  over  it,  and  were 
so  delighted  with  the  course  of  the  new  president,  so  far 
as  his  treatment  of  the  Conynghams  was  concerned,  that 
they  were  content  to  receive  but  little  notice  .and  few 
favors  from  the  administration,  so  long  as  the  Conyngham 
ambition  was  kept  within  bounds.  The  only  comforting 
reflection  the  old  General  now  had,  was  from  the  fact 
that  when  both  had  been  in  power,  during  the  former  ad 
ministration,  they  had  succeeded  in  having  expunged  from 
the  congressional  record  the  resolution  of  censure  which 
had  been  passed  by  Congress  upon  him  for  indulging  too 
freely  in  practices  which  would  not  be  approved  of  by 
strictly  honest,  business  men  at  any  time,  but  much  less 
when  his  country  was  engaged  in  a  desperate  struggle  for 
existence. 

Growing  old,  and  feeling  his  power  fast  waning,  Senator 
Conyngham  reluctantly  relaxed  his  grasp  on  politics,  and 
resigned  into  the  hands  of  his  son  the  reigns  of  gov 
ernment,  as  one  would  a  piece  of  private  property,  without 
consulting  the  people,  or  paying  even  the  slightest  regard 
to  their  wishes.  And  since  that  time  his  sole  pleasure  has 
consisted  in  training  his  son  in  the  ambitious  career  he 
had  marked  out  for  him,  and  in  amusing  himself  and  his 


THE  TIDE  TURNS.  233 

enemies  by  inditing  senile  and  bombastic  effusions  to 
the  press. 

The  General  firmly  believed,  and  vainly  endeavored  to 
convince  the  people,  that  his  success  in  life  had  been 
achieved  solely  by  his  own  unaided  talents  and  a  strict 
observance  of  the  Ten  Commandments,  united  with  a  stern 
determination  to  have  no  affiliations  whatever  with  "  those 

d d  literary  fellows,"  and  he  finally  wound  up  his  career 

of  a  half  century  of  scheming,  sordid  self-seeking,  criminal 
venality  and  political  debauchery,  by  getting  entangled  in 
the  toils  of  a  crafty  and  scheming  widow,  who,  like  him 
self,  knew  when  and  how  to  take  advantage  of  the  weak 
and  the  foolish. 

This  affair  finally  lead  to  a  breachof-promise  suit,  a 
suit  so  ridiculous  considering  the  antics  of  the  amorous 
old  swain,  as  to  convulse  the  whole  country. 

His  last  appearance  in  public  life  was  hurrying  away 
from  his  hotel  table  with  his  coat  pockets  full  of  oranges 
for  his  inamorata. 

Shades  of  Webster,  Clay,  and  Calhoun,  Sumner  and 
Lincoln  !  What  must  have  been  your  emotion,  in  thus 
witnessing  your  .worthy  successor  stealing  away  from  the 
table  d'hote,  his  tall  figure  bent  with  age  and  oranges, 
as  he  hastens  to  his  dulcinea  ! 

The  aged  and  retired  statesman  presents  a  venerable 
picture  as  he  sits  in  his  luxurious  and  well-appointed  library, 
while  pondering  over  the  great  problems  of  government 
and  devising  schemes,  for  the  benefit  of  posterity,  in  the 
fast  fading  twilight. 

"  Yes,  Sammy,"  he  exclaims,  addressing  his  private  sec 
retary,  "  Cicero  was  right  when  he  warned  men  to  '  bevare 
of  the  vidders.'  " 


234  ARMOUR. 

"  General,  what  became  of  that  troublesome  woman  who 
bothered  us  so  ? " 

"  Pish !  Sammy,  never  mind  that,"  the  general  replied 
testily ;  "  that  were  past.  Don't  mention  it  again.  By 
the  by,  Sammy,  I  have  mislaid  or  lost  one  of  my  most 
valuable  works." 

'•  Do  you  remember  the  title  of  it,  General  ? "  quickly 
replied  his  secretary. 

"  I  disremember  exactly,  but  it  was  either  Washington's 
Life  of  Irving,  or  Irving's  Life  of  Washington.  I  forget 
which.  But  it  is  no  matter.  I  will  wile  away  the  eve 
ning  by  reading  Dickens'  Elegy  on  a  Graveyard.  That 
kind  of  reading  always  rests  me  after  the  heavier  works  of 
Mark  Twain  and  Nicholas  Nickleby." 

At  the  last  National  convention  in  which  Conyngham 
and  his  fellow  boss  figured  conspicuously,  they  again 
attempted  to  ignore  the  wishes  of  the  people.  And  the 
spectacle  of  these  two  insolent  political  bosses  attempting, 
and  almost  succeeding  in  controlling  a  national  convention 
by  the  revival  of  the  third-term  principle  in  the  face  of  the 
unwritten  law  of  the  Republic,  was  a  scene  well  calculated 
to  excite  alarm  in  the  minds  of  thoughtful  men,  as  to  the 
future  of  the  country. 

Malcolm  Conyngham  here  showed  up  his  utter  moral 
and  intellectual  insignificance.  He  was  entirely  out  of 
place  and  his  vulgar  buying  up  of  the  negro  delegates,  and 
his  flattering  of  them  by  eating  at  the  same  table,  while  it 
went  a  great  way  towards  the  nominating  of  his  favorite, 
yet  it  did  not  fail  to  disgust  the  whole  country,  and  gave 
the  people  a  very  good  idea  of  the  mental  calibre  and  char 
acter  of  this  would-be  statesman. 

Our  political  system  of  sending  shop-keepers  to  Con 
gress  is  not  calculated  to  develop  statesmen. 


TffE  TIDE  TURKS.  2$$ 

The  unit  rule  was  here  again  attempted  as  at  the  pre 
vious  convention.  But  the  leaven  had  been  working  ever 
since,  and  he  was  sat  down  upon  without  ceremony,  and  his 
favorite  was  defeated. 

He  came  back  mortified,  completely  squelched,  and  a 
badly-whipped  man. 

Retiring  to  a  watering  place  during  the  summer,  he 
sulked  like  some  schoolboy,  until,  coaxed  and  cajoled  by 
his  father  and  the  leaders  of  the  party,  he  was  finally  per 
suaded  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  campaign. 

But  his  whole  course  had  been  so  undignified,  unmanly, 
and  showed  such  a  lack  of  brains  and  judgment,  that  he 
now  lost  nearly  all  the  influence  his  father  had  succeeded 
in  placing  in  his  hands.  If  his  party  had  been  defeated  here 
his  fate  would  have  been  sealed,  and  the  people  of  his 
State  would  have  been  no  longer  tyrannized  over  and 
scourged  by  the  Conyngham  family.  And  thus  was  here 
delayed  the  final  overthrow  of  a  family  who  had  for 
many  years,  with  the  assistance  of  monopolies  and  the 
cunning  manipulation  of  the  spoils  system,  continued  to 
fatten  and  flourish  on  their  ill-gotten  power.  And  in 
reply  to  the  indignant  remonstrances  of  the  people,  they 
still  answer,  in  tones,  not  quite,  but  almost  as  inso 
lently  defiant  as  ever,  "  What  are  you  going  to  do  about 
it?" 

"  The  mills  of  the  gods  grind  slowly,  but  they  grind 
exceeding  fine." 

In  Gulliver's  "  Voyage  to  the  Flying  Island,"  the  story  is 
told  of  a  great  court  lady,  very  beautiful,  loved  by  the 
handsomest  of  men,  who  yet  flies  from  her  home  to  go  and 
live  with  a  deformed  footman.  She  is  stripped  and  beaten. 
She  sinks  into  deeper  degradation  from  day  to  day,  but 


236  ARMOUR. 

she  likes  her  shame  and  declines  to  be  torn  from  her  worth 
less  lover. 

That  story  returns  to  my  thoughts  whenever  I  see  our 
country  attentively  listening  to  the  editorials  of  the  Re 
publican  and  the  Telegraph,  and  seeking  to  read  her  destiny 
in  the  responses  of  these  oracles. 


THE  GLITTERING  SERPENT.  237 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

THE   GLITTERING   SERPENT. 

CONYNGHAM'S  faults  were  selfishness,  avarice,  inordinate 
ambition,  and  a  total  disregard  for  the  feelings  and  inter 
ests  of  others,  when  they  conflicted  with  his  own. 

He  was  not  insensible  to  the  power  of  female  beauty,  nor 
averse  to  excess  in  wine,  yet  neither  wine  nor  beauty  could 
ever  seduce  the  cautious  and  frugal  libertine,  even  in  his 
earliest  youth,  into  one  fit  of  indiscreet  generosity. 

Plunging  into  the  giddy  whirl  of  Washington  society,  he 
now  quickly  threw  off  the  mask  of  morality  he  had  hith 
erto  worn,  and  indulged  in  all  kinds  of  dissipation.  He 
was  as  cool,  calculating,  and  systematic,  in  his  vices,  as  in 
his  financial  and  political  affairs,  and  avoided  excess  when 
it  interfered  with  either  his  ambition  or  his  health.  But  here 
in  the  social,  as  in  the  political  world,  it  was  only  a  ques 
tion  of  time  with  this  schemer,  as  to  all  schemers,  how 
soon  he  should  over-reach  himself. 

Louise  Renshaw's  husband  was  a  very  wealthy  manu 
facturer.  During  the  winter  it  had  been  customary  with 
him  to  rent  a  handsome  establishment  in  Washington, 
where  his  large  means  and  great  business  prominence 
would  have  given  him  the  entrte  to  the  fashionable  world, 
independent  of  the  fact  that  his  father  was  a  prominent 
senator,  and  his  mother  one  of  the  leaders,  if  not  the 
leader,  of  fashionable  society  at  the  capital. 

Here  they  spent  their  winters  delightfully,  amidst  balls, 
receptions,  and  brilliant  parties,  and  no  one  gave  more 


238  ARMOUR. 

lavish  and  elegant  entertainments  than  Mrs.  Henry  Ren 
shaw. 

In  this  gay  world,  the  wonderful  social  tact  of  Louise 
Renshaw,  nie  Emory,  and  her  knowledge  of  fashionable 
society,  soon  caused  her  to  be  recognized  as  the  social 
queen. 

Malcolm  Conyngham  when  wearied  with  the  distractions 
and  intrigues  of  political  life,  always  found  at  the  Ren- 
shaw's  that  tranquility  of  mind  that  was  denied  him  else 
where,  and  a  warm  welcome,  and  the  delightful  society 
of  an  intellectual  and  fascinating  woman  of  the  world,  — 
one  who  was  thoroughly  versed  in  its  ways,  and  not  averse 
to  taking  an  active  part  in  social  and  political  scheming, 
so  common  at  the  capital. 

Here  Conyngham  had  been  received  and  placed  on  the 
dangerous  footing  of  an  intimate  friend. 

No  more  kind  and  indulgent  husband  lived  than  Henry 
Renshaw,  and  he  desired  to  see  this  brilliant  wife,  of 
whom  he  was  so  proud,  have  ever}'  wish  gratified,  and  in 
her  ambition  to  be  considered  the  queen  of  society,  he  as 
sisted  her  in  every  way  possible. 

To  see  her  happy  was  an  all-sufficient  recompense  for 
the  almost  criminal  expenditure  of  money,  which  had 
cost  him  years  of  ceaseless  business  turmoil  to  accumulate. 

Mr.  Renshaw  was  not  naturally  of  either  a  suspicious 
or  jealous  nature,  and  so  firm  was  his  faith  and  belief  in 
the  loyalty  of  his  wife,  that  never,  even  for  a  moment,  had 
he  given  any  consideration  whatever  to  a  fact  which  was 
of  late  becoming  apparent  to  others,  that  Conyngham 's 
growing  intimacy  and  constant  attentions  to  his  wife  were 
of  such  a  character  as  to  be  the  subject  of  remark.  And 
while  their  actions  could  not  be  called  imprudent,  they 
were  certainly  very  indiscreet  for  married  people  to  in 
dulge  in. 


THE  GLITTERING  SERPENT.  239 

Some  of  these  rumors  had  reached  Mr.  Renshaw,  but 
he  had  paid  no  attention  to  them  until  one  evening,  at  a 
reception  given  by  the  Secretary  of  State,  as  he  sat  par 
tially  concealed  by  heavy  lace  curtains,  he  overheard  some 
fragmentary  conversation  between  his  wife  and  Conyng- 
ham  which,  for  the  first  time,  rendered  him  uneasy  as  to 
the  relations  existing  between  his  wife  and  their  friend. 

The  two  conversed  freely  without  a  thought  of  being 
overheard  by  any  one,  least  of  all  by  the  husband. 

"  You  know  I  look  upon  you  as  the  hostess,  and  your 
husband  an  unfortunate  appendage,"  Conyngham  half 
jokingly  remarked,  and  added,  "  but  you  know  he  must  be 
endured  for  the  exquisite  pleasure  01"  your  society.  Surely 
when  Mr.  Renshaw's  time  is  altogether  absorbed  in  busi 
ness  he  cannot  complain  if  you  choose  to  enjoy  yourself  in 
the  society  of  an  old  friend.  You  give  the  supper  and  1 
will  see  that  the  parties  will  all  be  there." 

"  But  I  must  consult  my  husband  first  and  see  if  these 
people  would  be  agreeable  to  him,  Mr.  Conyngham,"  she 
replied  hesitatingly. 

"  That  is  perfectly  right,"  exclaimed  Conyngham,  play 
fully.  u  You  are  right  in  consulting  him  in  everything,  but 
remember,  at  the  same  time,  that  I  am  your  friend,  too; 
and  I  beg  you  to  allow  me  to  continue  in  my  present  task 
of  advising  you,  in  some  things  at  least.  And  now  for 
once  exercise  your  own  free  will,  and  give  this  party  for 
my  sake.  Be  mistress  of  your  own  household  for  once. 
You  surely  need  not  ask  your  husband  about  so  trifling  a 
matter  as  this.  Do  you  understand  me  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  replied  Louise,  flattered,  but  inwardly  frightened 
at  Conyngham's  increasing  warmth  of  manner,  and  the 
meaning  glances  which  accompanied  his  remarks. 

But  by  his  skilful  manipulations  and  subtile  flattery,  he 


240  ARMOUR. 

had  of  late  completely  regained  his  old  power  over  her, 
and  alas !  had  rekindled  a  love  that  to  indulge  in  now  was 
criminal,  yet  for  a  month  back  these  two  had  been  thus 
dangerously  skating  over  thin  ice.  And  while  neither  had 
acted  imprudently,  each  day  saw  them  becoming  more  and 
more  enamored  and  infatuated  with  one  another. 

The  woman  had  always  lascinated  him,  and  her  intelli 
gence  and  knowledge  of  society  and  the  world,  had  already 
been  of  great  service  to  him,  and  of  late  she  had  become 
almost  necessary  to  his  comfort  and  happiness,  until,  ut 
terly  regardless  of  the  criminality  of  his  course,  lie  allowed 
no  opportunity  to  pass  without  endeavoring,  in  every  way 
possible,  to  alienate  this  wife  from  a  lond  husband,  and 
bring  shame  and  disgrace  upon  them  and  their  children. 

"  When  can  you  give  this  party  ?  Let  me  see,  —  to-day 
is  Thursday,"  —  he  said,  musingly. 

"  Will  next  Tuesday  do  ? "  she  asked,  as,  under  his  ar 
dent  glances,  she  blushed  like  a  girl,  and  felt  half  ashamed 
and  half  elated  at  the  unmistakable  admiration  betrayed 
in  Conyngham's  manner  towards  her. 

"  Yes.  Tuesday  will  do,"  he  said,  quietly;  "  but  I  would 
not  mention  a  word  to  your  husband  about  the  party. 
With  his  old-fashioned  notions  of  propriety  he  might  ob 
ject,  and  then  our  evening  would  be  spoiled." 

As  Mr.  Renshaw  noticed  his  wife's  flushed  face,  and  her 
eyes  growing  softer,  darker,  and  more  humid,  there  was  a 
deep  wound  in  his  heart.  But  he  would  not  acknowledge, 
even  to  himself,  that  his  wife  had  been  guilty  of  anything 
more  than  a  foolish  indiscretion.  Yet  the  wound  was  all 
the  same,  and  he  was  like  one  beginning  to  stir  in  an  un 
easy  dream,  dimly  conscious  of  an  impending  trouble  on 
awakening.  • 


THE  GUTTERING  SERPENT.  241 

Meeting  his  wife  shortly  after,  he  laid  his  hand  upon  her 
shoulder,  and  sighed  deeply. 

"Why  do  you  sigh  in  that  manner,"  she  hastily  asked; 
"  you  are  surely  not  wearied  by  society  so  soon,  are  you  ?  " 

"  Did  I  sigh  ?  Perhaps  I  am  tired,"  he  answered, 
patiently. 

"  Well,  if  you  are  bored  you  need  not  look  as  if  the 
party  were  such  a  terrible  infliction,"  she  said,  impatiently. 

A  guilty  conscience  had  rendered  her  uneasy,  and  under 
his  calm,  yet  penetrating  glances,  she  feared  this  feeling 
might  betray  itself  in  her  manner. 

She  was  a  little  flattered,  as  is  natural  when  a  wife  has 
been  receiving  praises  and  assurances  of  friendship  and 
sympathy,  mingled  with  sentiment,  in  one  sweet,  dangerous 
draft,  from  one  other  than  her  husband. 

On  the  way  home,  Mr.  Renshaw's  averted  glances  and 
unusually  abstracted  manner,  created  in  her  mind  a  vague 
feeling  of  uneasiness  and  alarm,  which  so  worked  upon 
the  wife's  fears  that  she  at  once  made  up  her  mind  to  pur 
sue  a  straight  course,  and  ask  her  husband's  approval  of 
the  party  she  desired  to  give  on  Conyngham's  account  the 
following  week. 

This  was  not  a  pleasant  task,  as  she  knew  that  this  ar 
rangement  to  have  persons  partaking  of  their  hospitality 
of  whom  her  husband  or  herself  knew  very  little,  could 
but  be  unpleasant  to  him,  and  might  possibly  offend 
him. 

"  Henry,"  she  said,  when  alone  in  their  room,  the  day 
following  the  reception,  while  she  was  dressing  for  dinner, 
"  we  ought  to  entertain  Malcolm  Conyngham  and  his  wife 
soon." 

"  I  suppose  we  ought,"  he  replied,  with  an  involuntary 
sigh.  His  heart  ached  at  the  sound  of  Conyngham's 


242  ARMOUR. 

name,  but  he  could  not  acknowledge  it  to  himself  as  he 
moved  uneasily  in  his  chair. 

"  We  have  never  entertained  them  yet,  and  of  course  we 
have  to  have  them  some  time,"  she  said. 

'•  When  do  you  wish  to  have  them  ?  "  asked  the  hus 
band,  moodily. 

"  On  Tuesday,"  said  Louise. 

How  her  heart  beat ! 

She  knew  that  her  husband  was  to  be  away  early  in  the 
week,  and  she  had  counted  on  Tuesday  as  one  of  the  days 
on  which  he  would  be  absent. 

"  I  cannot  be  here  on  Tuesday,  as  I  leave  on  Monday 
morning  for  New  York,  and  will  not  likely  return  before 
Wednesday.  Who  else  do  you  intend  having  besides 
Conyngham  and  his  wife  ?  " 

She  looked  embarrassed  while  endeavoring  to  calm  her 
nervous  apprehension.  She  well  knew  the  parties  she  de 
sired  to  invite  to  her  supper,  at  Conyngham's  request, 
were  persons  to  whom  her  husband  had  frequently  referred, 
and  .spoken  of  in  undisguised  tones  of  contempt  and 
disapproval,  and  she  dreaded  the  mentioning  of  their 
names  for  fear  of  arousing  a  temper  naturally  quick,  but 
well  under  control. 

She  had  seen  her  husband  angry  several  times  and  had 
not  forgotten  how  unpleasant  it  was. 

Like  all  scheming  and  intriguing  people  she  was  timid, 
and  hated  scenes. 

"  If  you  have  no  objections,  I  intend  to  ask  Mr.  Gray, 
and  also  Colonel  Forrester  and  his  lady,  and  the  two 
Misses  Arnold." 

To  her  surprise,  her  husband,  without  showing  a  parti 
cle  of  annoyance  at  the  strange  request  she  had  made  of 
him,  calmly  consented  to  allow  her  to  entertain,  in  his  own 


THE  GLITTERING  SERPENT.           243 

home,  a  notorious  male  and  female  lobbyist,  and  a  gentle 
man  and  two  young  ladies,  who,  while  they  mingled  in  the 
best  of  Washington  society,  yet  had  always  been  consid 
ered  as  the  leaders  of  a  rather  fast  set,  and  with  whom 
very  few  prudent  mothers  would  have  cared  to  see  their 
daughters  intimately  associate. 

"  Can't  you  possibly  postpone  your  business  until  Wed 
nesday,"  she  asked,  in  the  most  innocent  manner  possible. 

Mr.  Renshaw  looked  up  at  her  for  the  first  time  search- 
ingly,  as  he  said  to  himself,  "  Can  it  be  possible  she  has 
already  grown  to  be  such  an  adept  in  dissembling  ?  " 

"  I  have  never  broken  a  business  engagement  yet,  and 

should   scarcely  like  to  do  it  now,for  no  better  reason 

than  this.     Why  can  you  not  postpone  your  supper  party 

until  some  other  evening  ?  "  said  he,  as  they  descended  to 

the  dining-room,  and  sat  down  to  dinner. 

"  I  would,  but  Mr.  Conyngham  cannot  come  any  other 
evening  in  the  week." 

"In  that  case  it  had  better  not  be  at  all,"  said  her  hus 
band,  coldly.  "  Ask  the  rest  on  some  other  evening,  and 
let  Mr.  Conyngham  come  when  he  can." 

"  I  think  you  might  consider  what  is  due  to  a  senator 
and  a  gentleman,''  answered  his  wife,  rather  indignantly. 

Mr.  Renshaw  answered  very  gravely,  "  As  a  senator, 
Mr.  Conyngham  stands  nowhere  with  me.  You  know  that 
as  well  as  I  do.  As  a  neighbor,  and  an  old  friend  of  yours 
only,  is  he  recognized  in  this  house.  In  fact,  I  never  ad 
mired  the  gentleman  very  much,  and  would  prefer  that  he 
would  stay  away  altogether." 

Louise,  flushed  and  angry,  quickly  replied,  "  As  mistress 
of  the  house,  my  wishes,  I  am  sure,  are  entitled  to  some 
consideration,  and  I  ask  that  my  friend  be  treated  when 
here  as  a  gentlemen  should  be.  Several  times  lately  I 


244  ARMOUR. 

have  noticed  that  you  have  not  treated  him  with  the  cour 
tesy  due  to  a  guest.  If  you  are  not  friendly  disposed 
towards  him,  you  might,  at  least,  be  polite  to  him  on  my 
account.  If  however,  you  object  to  my  having  my  own 
\\.iv  with  this  party,  I  will  give  it  up  at  once.  But  I  do 
think  I  have  a  right  to  my  own  way  in  such  things." 

"  You  have  a  right  to  your  own  way,  and  have  never  been 
refused  when  you  have  asked  for  it,"  said  Mr.  Renshaw, 
calmly. 

"  You  give  me  my  own  way  when  I  ask  for  it.  You 
arc  certainly  very  generous,"  replied  his  wife  with  a  sneer. 

"  I  try  to  be  generous,"  said  Mr.  Renshaw,  gently.  "  Can 
you  not  defer  this  party  till  I  come  home  again  ? "  he  asked, 
pleasantly. 

'•  I  cannot,"  she  replied.  "  Mr.  Con)  ngham  fixed 
Tuesday,  and  I  cannot  change  it  now." 

"  It  was  unnecessary  to  ask  my  consent  if  you  and  he 
have  already  arranged  it,"  said  Renshaw,  angrily. 

"  I  do  not  think  I  did  ask  your  consent,"  said  Louise, 
quickly. 

"  What  did  you  ask  then  ? "  he  retorted,  endeavoring  to 
smile. 

"  I  think  I  only  told  you  of  the  fact,"  she  answered 
with  dignity  ;  "  and  I  think  I  have  the  right  to  ask  my 
best  friend  to  my  house  when  and  how  I  please,  without 
the  consent  of  my  husband." 

"  All  right,"  he  said  after  a  troubled  pause.  "  If  it 
please  you  to  ask  this  man  whom  you  call  your  best 
friend,  then  do  so.  You  have  a  right  to  do  as  you  will  in 
this  house.  This  supper  party  is  not  your  will,  but  Mal 
colm  Conyngham's,  and  to  this  I  do  not  feel  disposed  to 
submit." 


THE  GLITTERING  SERPENT.  245 

"You  might  this  once,  Henry,"  his  wife  replied,  in  her 
old,  caressing  tone  and  manner. 

u  No.  I  will  not,"  he  answered  gravely.  "  I  am  de 
termined  not  to  gratify  the  whim  of  a  man  I  dislike, 
and  who  has  been  the  occasion  of  the  only  serious  dissen 
sion  we  have  had  during  our  married  life  ;  and  I  must 
emphatically  forbid  your  giving  this  party  during  my  ab 
sence."  And  rising  from  the  table  Mr.  Renshaw  walked 
sadly  into  the  parlor,  where,  throwing  himself  on  a  lounge, 
he  gave  himself  up  to  anxious  reflections  as  to  the  future. 

Unable  to  remain  quiet,  he  arose  and  walked  to  the 
window. 

It  was  a  very  little  matter,  this  supper  party,  but  under 
the  circumstances  it  seemed  to  him  a  serious  and  threaten 
ing  one. 

His  wife  followed  him  penitently,  and  as  she  stood  be 
side  him  said,  "  I  would  not  have  insisted  on  the  party, 
Henry,  but  the  invitations  are  all  now  sent  out,  and  if  you 
disturb  the  arrangements  you  will  put  a  public  affront  on 
me,  and  I  know  you  do  not  desire  to  do  that, — do  you  ? " 

He  looked  down  into  her  face  with  an  expression  she 
never  afterwards  forgot,  full  of  sadness  and  mournful  ten 
derness  as  he  wearily  said,  "  Well,  have  your  party.  We 
are  not  going  to  quarrel  about  Mr.  Conyngham.  He  is 
not  worth  quarreling  about." 

Now  that  she  had  accomplished  her  purpose  she  was 
sincerely  sorry. 

She  had  once  loved  her  husband  passionately,  before 
this  man  Conyngham  had,  for  the  second  time,  crossed  her 
unfortunate  path,  like  the  glittering  serpent  he  was  1 


246  ARMOUR. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

IN   THE  TOILS. 

ON  the  eventful  evening  of  the  party,  Louise  surpassed 
herself  in  beauty  of  person  and  elegance  of  dress.  She 
had  never,  arrayed  herself  with  such  a  prodigality  of 
wealth,  and  never  looked  so  handsome.  Her  dress  was 
rose-colored  satin,  the  palest  shade  of  that  beautiful  tint, 
with  plenty  of  fine  old  lace.  The  diamonds  in  her  dark 
hair  and  around  her  neck,  while  flashing  and  sparkling 
brilliantly,  brightened  and  enlivened  her  costume,  charm 
ingly  bringing  into  relief  the  patrician  and  refined  face  of 
the  wearer. 

She  did  not  look  more  than  twenty-five,  although  well 
in  her  thirties,  as  she  received  her  guests  with  a  sweet 
smile  and  high-bred  courtesy.  She  was  an  unusually  at 
tractive  woman,  with  her  beautifully  rounded  arms,  and 
her  softly  moulded  figure  that  had  bloomed  into  generous 
maturity  without  losing  its  grace. 

Her  shoulders  were  models,  and  more  exquisitely  grace 
ful  and  polished  in  their  outlines  than  when  younger. 
She  was  the  very  ideal  of  a  lovely  woman  in  her  prime, 
and  had  wonderfully  improved  since  her  girlhood,  and 
possessed  nearly  every  quality  which  men  most  admire. 

I'.ut  she  had  no  reasoning  faculty,  and  was  a  woman  of 
strong  passions.  Love  was  her  ruling  passion  ;  and,  alas ! 
she  found  that  another  could  better  awaken  it,  than  could 
her  husband. 


IN  THE  TOILS.  247 

All  evening  she  was  radiant  with  excitement,  and  her 
imagination  was  at  fever  heat. 

Malcolm  Conyngham  made  his  appearance  early  in  the 
evening,  unaccompanied  by  his  wife,  and  in  a  calm  and 
unconcerned  manner  he  complimented  her  in  low  tones, 
and  flattered  her  as  usual,  causing  her  heart  to  flutter  in  a 
way  that  no  married  woman's  heart  ever  should  flutter. 

He  asked  her,  in  significant  tones,  if  she  expected  Mr. 
Renshaw  home  that  night. 

At  the  mention  of  her  husband's  name,  Louise  glanced 
quickly  towards  the  door,  with  a  startled  expression,  as 
she  answered,  "  He  will  not  be  home  until  to-morrow 
evening." 

"  I  am  glad  of  it,"  he  said  as  he  pressed  her  hand  more 
warmly  than  was  necessary,  and  then  crossed  over  the 
room  to  speak  to  Colonel  Forrester  and  his  lady,  in  order 
to  further  some  political  scheme  he  had  in  view,  and  for 
which  purpose,  as  well  as  to  enjoy  the  society  of  Mrs. 
Renshaw  unmolested  for  one  evening,  he  had  planned  this 
party. 

The  .supper  was  a  lively  and  gay  one,  very  much  more 
so  than  those  over  which  Mrs.  Renshaw  generally  pre 
sided  ;  and  if  some  of  the  strict  social  proprieties  were 
overlooked,  these  omissions  were  more  than  compensated 
for  by  the  hilarious  mirth  and  reckless  jollity  which  pre 
vailed  throughout  the  evening. 

With  eyes  flashing  with  the  fever  of  love,  and  fired  by 
wine,  Louise  Renshaw  was  more  brilliant  than  any  one 
could  have  imagined  so  dignified  a  person  could  be.  She 
was  radiant  and  happy,  and  everything  around  her  offered 
up  incense  at  her  shrine. 

She  was  praised  and  flattered  and  loved  by  one  of  the 
most  prominent  and  distinguished  men  in  the  capital,  and 


248  ARMOUR. 

as  intrigue  was  her  element,  she  was  supremely  happy 
to-night. 

It  had  been  so  long  since  these  latent  and  dormant  ele 
ments  of  the  false  side  of  her  character  had  been  allowed 
full  play,  that  the  very  novelty  of  this  sensation,  and  the 
spice  of  danger,  caused  her  to  more  keenly  enjoy  than 
ever  the  gratification  of  her  morbid  nature. 

It  was  quite  late  when  all  but  Conyngham,  after  warmly 
thanking  their  hostess  for  so  pleasant  an  evening,  had 
retired. 

The  gentlemen  and  one  of  the  ladies,  much  to  the 
amusement  of  the  servants,  had  considerable  difficulty,  in 
the  midst  of  their  profuse  and  maudlin  adieus  to  make 
their  way  to  their  carriages  ;  and,  in  tact,  one  of  the  gen 
tlemen,  to  the  mortification  of  the  old  'amily  colored  man 
and  the  amusement  of  the  rest  of  the  party,  required  per 
sonal  assistance  from  the  former,  who,  feeling  outraged  at 
such  unusual  and  undignified  performances,  especially 
during  his  master's  absence,  hurried  the  inebriated  guest 
to  the  carriage,  and  seated  him  with  an  energy  more  for 
cible  than  polite. 

As  Louise  and  Conyngham  returned  to  the  parlor  the 
lights  had  been  turned  down,  and  the  twilight  was  a  pleas 
ant  relief,  after  the  glare  and  bustle  of  the  evening.  The 
servants  had  retired,  and  as  he  led  her  into  the  room,  and 
sat  by  her  as  he  had  done  ten  years  before,  she  looked 
down  timidly,  and  he  could  see  her  hands  tremble  and 
her  delicate  lips  twitch  nervously. 

She  was  evidently  frightened  at  her  position. 

"  I  know  how  much  you  love  your  husband,  Louise," 
said  Conyngham  in  the  most  frank  and  innocent  way  pos 
sible,  and  at  the  same  time  in  his  most  insidious  manner, 
and  with  glances  whose  meaning  no  woman  could  mistake. 


IN  THE  TOILS.  249 

"  I  used  to  love  him,"  said  Louise  ;  "  but  he  is  so  ab 
sorbed  of  late  in  his  business  affairs,  and  is  so  impatient 
and  rude  at  times,  that  I  no  longer  feel  the  same  affection 
towards  him  that  I  used  to." 

"  I  know  and  sympathize  with  you  Louise,  and  can 
easily  understand  how  unsatisfying  would  be  the  cold, 
measured  affections  of  a  man  whose  whole  mind  is  intent 
on  the  rise  and  fall  of  merchandise  and  the  petty  details 
of  business,  as  to  leave  no  room  for  any  other  emotions, 
while  leaving  a  warm,  passionate  heart  like  your  own  at 
home  to  fill  the  empty  void  as  best  you  may." 

He  spoke  in  the  softest  of  moods,  and  in  low,  tender, 
and  confidential  tones ;  and,  as  he  took  her  unresisting 
hand  in  his  own,  while  placing  his  arm  around  her,  she 
crimsoned  as  she  replied,  "  I  used  to  love  Henry  like — like 
—  "  and  looking  up  into  Conyngham's  face  there  was  a 
look  in  his  eyes  which  made  her  drop  her  own  shamed 
face  to  the  floor. 

"  I  love  you  very  much,  Louise,"  he  said  tenderly. 

She  clung  to  him  confidingly  as  she  asked,  "  Do  you, 
Malcolm  ? " 

He  stooped  and  kissed  her  passionately, 

O,  if  she  could  have  seen  and  understood  the  look 
which  blazed  from  Conyngham's  steel-gray  eyes,  and 
which  almost  scorched  her  in  its  fierce  glare,  and  all  the 
cruelty  that  lay  behind  that  look,  it  would  have  filled  her 
with  terror  and  dread. 

As  Conyngham  left  the  house,  a  carriage  drove  up  to 
the  door,  and  Mr.  Renshaw  quickly  alighted  in  time  to 
exchange  salutations  with  him. 

Bidding  each  other  good-night  each  went  his  way. 

The  latter  little  suspected  that  from  that  evening,  hence 


250  ARMOUR. 

forth,  the  old  and  honorable  name  of  the  Renshaws  would 
become  to  himself  and  his  children,  a  by-word  of  humilia 
tion  or  reproach,  instead  of  an  honor  and  pride,  as  it  had 
been  from  the  days  his  sturdy  Puritan  ancestors  had 
landed,  that  cold,  bleak,  wintry  morning,  on  the  rock- 
bound  coast  of  New  England. 


AN  IGNOMINIOUS  FLIGHT.  251 


CHAPTER  XL. 

AN    IGNOMINIOUS    FLIGHT. 

GRADUALLY  Henry  Renshaw  became  aware  of  the 
change  in  the  manner  of  his  wife  towards  him.  She  was 
colder  and  more  discontented  than  he  had  ever  known  her. 

He  attributed  it  all  to  temporary  indisposition  and  dul- 
ness  of  spirits.  She  became  more  petulant  and  fault-find 

ing- 

Conyngham's  visits  increased  to  such  an  extent  at  last 
that  even  Renshaw's  unsuspicious  nature  was  aroused,  and 
calling  her  into  his  library  one  evening,  he  said  to  her 
firmly,  and  with  a  metalic  ring  in  his  tones, — the  import 
of  which  his  wife  instinctively  knew,  and  which  filled  the 
mind  of  the  agitated  woman  with  the  utmost  alarm,  — 
"  Louise,  you  must  forget  all  this  folly  this  scoundrel 
Conyngham  has  so  artfully  led  you  into.  I  do  not  wish 
to  be  either  harsh  or  tyrannical,  but  I  cannot  stand  by 
and  see  you  approach  moral  and  social  suicide,  and  make 
my  name  a  word  of  contempt  in  society,  for  the  sake  of 
gratifying  the  devilish  pride  of  a  treacherous  sneak.  Now, 
for  my  sake  and  your  own,  promise  to  cut  this  man  here 
after.  I  know  you  have  been  indiscreet,  and  perhaps 
imprudent,  but  criminal,  never.  I  have  too  much  faith  in 
you  to  ever  believe  that." 

Her  conscience  smote  her  fiercely,  and  in  that  moment 
she  realized  to  the  full  extent  the  great  wrong  she  had 
done  to  one  of  the  nobles*  of  husbands. 


252  ARMOUR.' 

She  hid  her  face  in  her  hands,  and  burst  into  tears. 
He  took  her  to  him  and  kissed  her  with  affection  and 
tenderness. 

But  the  sweet  caress  did  not  awaken  in  her  the  joy  she 
had  once  felt,  and  she  now  simply  endured  it  as  penance 
for  the  misery  she  had  wrought. 

"We  are  both  so  changed,  Henry,  of  late,"  she  said, 
while  almost  involuntarily  withdrawing  from  his  embrace, 
"  that  I  am  afraid  we  can  never  love  each  other  as  we  used 
to,  and  I  fear  our  whole  lives  must  now  be  different." 

Renshaw  suddenly  turned  to  his  wife  like  a  flash,  and 
unable  any  longer  to  control  his  temper,  he  cried  fiercely, 
as  he  placed  his  hand  on  her  shoulder  with  a  grip  that 
made  her  almost  scream  out  with  pain  and  terror,  "  Tell 
me, —  and  mark  me,  no  lie,  or  I  will  kill  you  in  an  instant, 
—  has  this  affair  of  yours  and  Conyngham's  been  carried 
to  a  serious  extent  ? " 

As  he  said  the  last  words  he  lowered  his  head,  and 
glared  into  her  face  like  a  madman,  and  his  hot  breath, 
which  came  quick  and  fast,  fairly  scorched  her. 

Obtaining  no  reply,  he  clutched  the  miserable  woman 
by  the  throat,  and  forced  her  on  her  knees.  While  insane 
with  rage  and  jealousy,  he  choked  her  until  her  eyes  started 
from  their  sockets,  and  her  face  became  black  with  stran 
gulation.  As  she  hung  limp  and  almost  lifeless,  all  was 
silent  as  death. 

It  was  a  terrible  moment.  Murder  and  revenge  were 
plainly  written  on  the  enraged  husband's  terribly  cruel 
and  inexorably  set  face,  and  the  relentless  tiger-look 
was  as  immovable  and  fixed  as  that  of  a  fiend,  and  almost 
paralyzed  the  terror-stricken  and  half  dead  woman.  Noth 
ing  but  the  fierce,  short  breathing  of  suppressed  rage  of 


AN  IGNOMINIOUS    FLIGHT.  253 

the  husband,  and  the  choking  gasps  of  the  almost  dying 
wife,  disturbed  the  awful  stillness  of  the  room. 

Slightly  relaxing  his  iron  grasp  on  the  almost  uncon 
scious  woman,  he  hissed  in  her  ear,  "  Speak  !  Speak  quick  ! 
—  for  your  life !  Answer  me.  No  lies.  Yes,  or  no  ?  " 

Reading  her  fate  in  the  unpitying  glare  of  those  murder 
ous  eyes  if  she  did  not  tell  the  truth,  with  an  almost  super 
human  effort  she  slowly  shook  her  head  in  the  negative, 
and  murmured,  "  Never  !  " 

"  Thank  God  !  Thank  God !  it  has  not  gone  that 
far,"  cried  the  unhappy  man,  as  he  slowly  raised  the  limp 
form  of  his  wife,  and  placed  her  on  a  lounge.  Then  he 
paced  the  room,  completely  unnerved  and  almost  dis 
tracted. 

"  My  God!  My  God  !  "  he  said,  "  this  is  dreadful  !  ter 
rible  !  If  this  goes  on  much  longer  I  will  go  mad !  It 
will  kill  me,"  he  cried,  as  his  whole  frame  shook  wfth  con 
vulsive  sobs,  while  his  wife  looked  on  awe-stricken  at  the 
terrible  work  she  had  made  of  their  mutual  happiness. 

"  And  this  is  the  wife  whom  I  so  tenderly  loved  !  and  so 
implicitly  believed  in,"  he  cried  out,  in  heart-broken  tones. 

Gradually  becoming  calm,  he  sat  down  by  his  wife,  and, 
taking  her  cold  hand  in  his  own,  he  said  in  strangely  calm 
and  saddened  tones,  while  steadying  his  voice  as  best  he 
could,  but  which  shook  and  broke  in  spite  of  all  his  efforts, 
"  You  once  loved  me,  Louise ;  and  how  could  you  let  this 
scoundrel  come  in  between  us.  You  surely  will  not  despoil 
me  to  gratify  this  villain.  Before  it  is  too  late  come  back 
to  me,  my  wife.  Come  back  to  your  husband  and  your 
children.  Come  back  before  you  have  broken  my  heart, 
and  fallen  from  your  own  high  estate." 

"  No,"  she  exclaimed  coldly,  "  we  can  never  be  to  each 
other  what  we  once  were.  I  have  told  you  to-day  that 


254  ARMOUR. 

nothing  criminal  has  ever  passed  between  Conyngham  and 
myself,  but  I  now  confess  to  you  that  I  no  longer  love  you 
as  I  once  did ;  and  henceforth,  —  though,  for  our  chil 
dren's  sake  and  for  our  own  pride,  if  you  so  desire  it, 
we  may  live  together,  —  my  love  for  you  is  dead.  It  is  too 
late  now,  too  late! "  and  with  a  sigh  as  deep  and  as  sad  as 
his  own  over  their  ruined  happiness  and  desolated  home, 
she  left  the  room. 

As  the  broken-hearted  man  sat  there,  amidst  the  shat 
tered  idols  of  his  household,  with  despair  in  his  heart,  the 
door-bell  rang,  and  at  the  sound  of  Conyngham's  hated 
voice,  the  man  who  had  robbed  him  of  all  that  man  holds 
most  dear,  —  his  wife's  love,  and  his  own  and  his  chil 
dren's  honor,  —  the  proud  man  became  almost  stifled  with 
rage.  He  advanced  to  the  door  and  intercepted  Conyng 
ham  who  was  half  way  in  the  room. 

Renshaw's  whole  life  had  been  marked  by  great  moder 
ation  and  self-control,  but  he  was  a  man  of  powerful  pas 
sions,  and  those  who  could  have  read  his  heart  at  that 
moment,  would  have  shrank  back  appalled  at  the  depth  of 
hatred  and  hell  which  raged  within,  at  the  sight  of  his  cow 
ardly  and  triumphant  foe,  who  had  stridden  into  his  house 
as  if  monarch  of  all  he  surveyed. 

Nothing  but  the  long-rooted  habit  of  self-control  and 
the  self-respect  of  a  gentleman,  kept  him  from  taking  the 
lordly-insolent  and  smooth-tongued  intruder  by  the  throat, 
and  strangling  the  life  out  of  him. 

The  husband  stood  there  for  a  moment,  struggling  with 
his  murderous  passion  and  his  shame. 

Why  should  he  not  kill  this  man  as  he  would  have 
crushed  a  serpent  coiled  to  spring? 

Silent,  his  broad  chest  heaving,  and  his  hands  clenched, 


AN  IGNOMINIOUS  PLIGHT.  255 

his  lips  compressed  to  a  bloodless  line,  his  eyes  glaring, 
he  stood,  the  image  of  rage  and  despair. 

As  he  made  a  step  towards  the  cowardly  creature,  who 
had  stood  transfixed  with  fear  and  horror  at  the  terrible 
apparition  of  the  outraged  and  avenging  husband,  the 
former  turned  quickly  on  his  heel,  and  made  a  precipitate 
and  undignified  retreat,  nor  paused  in  his  ignominious 
flight  till  he  safely  reached  his  home. 

There  have  been  wickeder  men  than  Conyngham,  but 
never  one  who  covered  his  wickedness  with  more  meanness 
and  cowardice.  While  he  had  not  been  criminal,  yet  to 
gratify  an  insane  desire,  he,  in  every  way  possible  by 
words  and  actions,  gave  coloring  to  the  gossip  and  stories 
which  were  whispered,  with  nods  and  winks,  from  one  end 
of  the  capital  to  the  other,  and  gloried  in  the  notoriety 
which  fed  his  morbid  vanity. 

One  word  from  him,  or  a  change  in  his  conduct,  would 
have  given  the  lie  to  the  brutal  scandals  ;  but  the  poor, 
vain  creature  delighted,  nay  reveled  in  his  shame,  and 
sneered  at  the  ruin  he  had  wrought  in  a  once  happy  house 
hold. 

To  have  it  said  that  he  had  fascinated  such  a  brilliant 
woman  of  the  world,  such  a  queen  of  society,  filled  this 
creature  with  delight,  and  he  hastened  to  affirm,  through 
his  conduct,  all  that  had  been  hinted  or  charged. 

To  add  to  Mr.  Renshaw's  domestic  troubles,  his  busi 
ness  became  involved,  and,  harassed,  broken-hearted,  and 
separated  from  wife  and  children,  he  dragged  a  miserable 
existence  worse  than  death. 

His  wife,  forsaken  and  alone,  wanders  like  Hagar  in 
the  wilderness,  a  prey  to  her  own  miserable  grief. 

Will  a  nation  of  pure  and  happy  homes  return  this  class 
of  men  to  the  national  councils  there  to  be  the  protectors 


256  ARMOUR. 

and  the  arbitrators  of  our  gravest  interests,  domestic  and 
otherwise  ?  Can  the  people,  and  will  the  people,  return 
such  insolent  and  unscrupulous  men  to  power  ?  Can  the 
churches  keep  quiet  ?  One  would  think  that  every  Chris 
tian  minister  would  raise  his  voice  in  virtuous  indignation, 
and  cry  out  in  horror  and  shame,  "  No,  no !  never  as  long 
as  we  have  sons  and  daughters,  wives  and  mothers,  shall 
we  disgrace  our  manhood  by  allowing  these  men  to  reign 
over  us,"  and  truly  and  earnestly  ask,  WHAT  ARE  YOU  GO 
ING  TO  DO  ABOUT  IT  ? 


THE  JUST  MADE  PERFECT.  257 


CHAPTER  XLI. 

THE  JUST   MADE   PERFECT. 

WAS  Emily  Conyngham  nte  Charlton,  happy,  surrounded 
by  all  the  wealth  and  flattery  of  which,  as  the  wife  of  Sen 
ator  Conyngham,  she  now  became  the  recipient  ?  The  lat- 
ter's  love  for  her  during  their  married  life  had  been  meted 
out  to  her  in  the  same  cold,  calculating  spirit  which  marked 
every  transaction  of  his  sordid  and  selfish  career. 

However  improbable  as  it  may  seem,  with  the  knowledge 
even  of  her  husband's  inconstancy,  her  shallow,  thought 
less,  nature  suffered  but  a  passing  pang  of  mortified  pride, 
soon  to  be  forgotten  in  the  midst  of  the  giddy  whirl  of 
that  fashionable  society  to  which  she  had  become  a  de 
voted  slave. 

Much  to  the  disappointment  of  her  early  friends,  as 
Mrs.  Senator  Conyngham,  she  had  developed  into  a  silly, 
childishly  vain,  and  frivolous  woman  ;  and,  as  Larry  Ham 
ilton  had  correctly  surmised,  her  undivided  time  and 
attention  were  entirely  given  to  the  adornment  of  her  per 
son  and  the  acquiring  of  silly  airs  and  graces,  and  to  the 
preservation  of  her  fast-waning  personal  charms. 

Emily  had  matured  early,  and  her  mental  growth  had 
ceased  with  her  physical,  and  at  thirty-five  she  was  as 
vain  and  thoughtless  as  the  veriest  Miss  in  her  teens. 
But  the  silly  affectation  and  ridiculous  little  airs  and  van 
ities  which  can  be  tolerated,  and  are  even  charming  in  a 
fresh,  and  beautiful  young  girl,  only  serve  to  make  middle- 


258  ARMOUR. 

aged,  married  women  ridiculous.  Every  premonition  of 
approaching  age  almost  rendered  her  frantic,  and  for  a 
while  she  affected  the  company  of  very  young  people,  ho 
ping  thereby  to  retain  the  semblance  of  youthfulness —  and 
probably,  too,  for  the  reason  that  her  own  mental  shallow- 
ness  and  frivolity  rendered  thoughtful  company  distasteful 
to  her. 

The  gratification  of  her  insane  vanity  became  in  time 
with  her  almost  a  monomania,  and  to  such  an  extent  was 
this  carried,  and  so  jealous  did  she  finally  become,  that  the 
praise  of  a  younger  and  prettier  woman  rendered  her 
miserable. 

Her  time  was  spent  in  discussing  the  details  of  dress 
with  milliners  and  dressmakers,  while  her  conversation 
consisted  and  abounded  in  nothing  but  the  tittle-tattle 
of  society,  and  the  beauties  of  the  last  new  bonnet.  She 
soon  became  a  mere  idle  woman  of  fashion,  whose  whole 
ambition  in  life  was  to  be  the  leader  of  a  little  clique  of 
persons,  as  light,  trifling,  and  frivolous  as  herself,  with  no 
deep  affections  or  cravings  for  anything  better  or  higher. 
With  all  her  wishes  and  desires  in  this  respect  gratified, 
she  was  perfectly  contented  and  happy,  so  long  as  no 
woman  was  better  dressed,  or  more  highly  praised,  than 
herself. 

Ralph  Adair — good,  honest,  manly  Ralph — is  now  Judge 
Adair  ;  the  husband  of  a  noble  woman,  who,  in  addition 
to  her  many  other  charms,  adds  that  of  a  single-minded 
love  and  devotion  for  her  honest,  upright  husband,  which 
has  long  ago  caused  all  recollections  of  his  early  and  un 
requited  affection  for  Louise  Emory  to  fade  almost  en 
tirely  from  his  memory. 

And  when  one  evening  he  read  from  his  paper  to  a  fond 
wife,  with  his  little  daughter  on  his  knee,  the  terrible  scan- 


THE  JUST  MADE  PERFECT.  259 

dal  connected  with  the  unfortunate  object  of  his  early 
adoration,  he  inwardly  thanked  God.  Leaning  over,  he 
reverently  kissed  the  forehead  of  the  pure  little  woman 
before  him,  who,  in  her  unsuspecting  innocence,  scarcely 
comprehended  or  fully  realized  the  dreadful  import  of 
these  rumors,  or  knew  what  a  world  of  misery  and  wretch 
edness  had,  and  would  continue  to,  come  from  this  unfor 
tunate  affair. 

Mclntosh  joined  the  small  band  of  independent  men, 
who,  in  both  parties,  had  leagued  themselves  together  in 
their  State,  for  the  purpose  of  breaking  up  the  insolent 
power  of  monopoly  and  Conynghamism. 

He  had  the  proud  satisfaction  of  inflicting  an  almost 
mortal  blow  upon  Conyngham's  now  fast-waning  power. 

When  the  latter's  legislature  convened  to  elect  a  col 
league  for  himself,  and  he  endeavored  to  enforce  on  the 
people,  as  heretofore,  a  man  selected  in  a  little  caucus 
of  his  own  creatures,  at  his  own  private  residence,  under 
the  leadership  of  Mclntosh  the  people  became  thoroughly 
aroused,  and  rallying  the  independent  and  honest  men  of 
the  party  around  them,  to  Conyngham's  alarm,  anger,  and 
dismay  they  almost  succeeded  in  giving  a  death-blow  to 
Conynghamism  forever. 

But  the  latter,  at  the  last  moment,  by  a  trick,  was 
enabled  to  name  his  colleague,  again  defeating  the  wishes 
of  the  people. 

Questor,  with  his  usual  sagacity,  perceiving  of  late  the 
fast-waning  power  of  the  Conynghams,  and  the  disrepute 
into  which  the  "  Boss  System  "  had  fallen,  like  the  prudent, 
calculating  man  he  was,  had  determined  to  make  hay  while 
the  sun  shone ;  and  ever  since  the  last  Presidential  con 
vention,  at  which  such  a  death  blow  to  bossism  was  given, 


26o  ARMOUR. 

has  been  industrously  engaged,  under  one  pretext  or 
another,  in  depleting  the  public  treasury.  Profiting,  how 
ever,  by  the  experience  of  the  Tweed  Ring,  so  skilfully  has 
he  succeeded  in  covering  his  tracks,  that  it  is  very  doubtful 
whether  the  people  will  ever  be  able  to  uncover  them.  He 
still  smokes  incessantly,  indulges  in  epigrammatic  wisdom, 
and  holds  to  the  opinion  that  when  he  dies  wisdom  will 
die  with  him. 

Hausenploose,  after  serving  the  purposes  of  the  "ring" 
faithfully,  received  his  just  reward.  Lured  by  the  false 
lights  of  promised  high  offices,  his  treacherous  friends 
amused  themselves  by  gradually  drawing  him  from  the 
paths  of  ambition  and  honor,  where  he  would  have  been 
in  Malcolm  Conyngham's  way,  through  moral  and  political 
bogs  and  mires,  until,  utterly  exhausted  and  almost  hope 
less,  by  constant  disappointment  from  following  the  will- 
of-the-wisp  which  ever  seemed  to  tantalizingly  elude  him 
when  almost  within  his  grasp,  he  cried  "  hold  !  enough  !  " 

And  with  the  assistance  of  his  false  friends',  and  the 
natural  adaptability  of  the  political  crab,  he  has  ever  since 
been  gradually  retracing  his  official  steps. 

After  leaving  the  gubernatorial  chair  he  attempted  the 
presidency,  by  the  advice  of  the  "  ring,"  who  desired  to 
play  his  influence  as  a  counter  in  their  game  to  make 
Conyngham's  man  president. 

Failing  in  this  he  accepted  the  postmastership  of  a  large 
town,  and  after  filling  this  office  for  some  years,  owing  to 
the  pressure  of  office-seekers  under  the  spoils  system,  he 
was  compelled  to  retire  and  make  room  for  a  more  useful 
member  of  the  "  ring,"  and  is  now  worthily  officiating  as 
justice  of  the  peace  in  his  native  village  of  Speidelbergh. 

Goforhim,  the  ring's  candidate  and  Hamilton's  success 
ful  competitor  for  Congressional  honors,  now  flourished 
like  a  green  bay  tree. 


THE  JUST  MADE  PERFECT.  261 

Whipple's  "Characteristics  of  Men,"  says,  there  are 
persons  whose  thoughts  and  feelings  are  all  turned  inwards, 
and  group  or  huddle  round  some  conceit  of  their  intellect, 
or  some  master  disposition  of  their  selfishness.  These 
are  the  men  who  gradually  become  insane  on  some  one 
darling  peculiarity  of  character,  which  is  exaggerated  into 
huge  size  by  assiduous  training.  It  is,  as  Sir  Thomas 
Browne  would  say,  "  an  acorn  in  their  young  brows  which 
grows  to  an  oak  in  their  old  heads."  Conceit,  for  instance, 
he  says,  often  ends  in  making  a  man  mentally  and  morally 
deaf  and  blind.  He  hears  nothing  but  the  whispers  of 
vanity,  he  sees  nothing  but  what  is  reflected  in  the  mirror 
of  selfishness,  though  society  may  all  the  while  be  on  the 
broad  grin,  or  in  a  civil  titter,  at  his  pompous  nothingness. 
He  will  doubt  everything  before  he  doubts  his  own  impor 
tance  ;  and  his  folly,  being  based  on  a  solid  foundation  of 
self-delusion,  steals  out  of  him  in  the  most  unconscious 
and  innocent  way  in  the  world. 

And  so  Goforhim's  egotism  and  speeches  in  Congress, 
consisting  of  elaborate  compilings  from  the  Congressional 
Record,  and  an  incomprehensible  and  startling  array  of 
statistics,  common-places,  and  figures,  earned  for  him 
amongst  his  constituents  the  title  of  the  "  Lightning  Cal 
culator  ; "  but  in  the  superabundance  of  his  enormous 
self-conceit,  which  completely  blinded  him  mentally,  he 
never  for  a  moment  doubted  but  that  these  speeches  were 
not  only  monuments  of  wisdom,  but  would  serve  countless 
generations  in  their  efforts  to  guide  our  country  through 
the  perils  that  may  beset  her  path. 

In  printing  his  speeches  the  government  printing  office 
was  frequently  compelled  to  suspend  work  upon  them  until 
they  received  from  the  type  foundry  a  new  supply  of  "  I's," 
which  always  gave  out  before  completing  them. 


262  ARMOUR. 

To  still  further  add  to  his  distress  and  the  discomfort  of 
his  friends,  his  malady  took  another  form,  —  too  much 
contact  with  silver  mining  millionaires  in  Congress.  He 
began  to  imagine  himself  not  only  the  "  savior  of  his  coun 
try,"  but  also  that  he  possessed,  or  was  about  to  possess, 
the  wealth  of  Aladdin. 

To  such  an  extent  did  he  labor  under  this  delusion,  that 
his  friends  became  seriously  alarmed,  and  they  finally  in 
duced  him  to  take  a  trip  amongst  the  Mormons  and  the 
silver  mining  regions,  where  they  thought  an  indulgence 
in  these  harmless  vagaries  amongst  congenial  surround 
ings,  and  far  from  the  original  exciting  causes,  might  pos 
sibly  restore  his  lost  equilibrium. 

The  following  letter  while  showing  some  improvement, 
still  warns  his  friends  that  it  would  not  be  wise  or  judi 
cious  to  encourage  a  hasty  return  on  his  part.  It  is  clipped 
from  a  Salt  Lake  paper,  but  is  in  reality,  from  his  own 

pen. 

DISTINGUISHED    VISITORS. 

CONGRESSMEN    GOFORHIM    EN    THE    CITY. 

Among  the  arrivals  from  the  East,  on  Sunday  evening,  were  Hon. 
Hilarious  Galorious  Goforhim,  a  prominent  and  active  Republican 
worker,  who  represents  one  of  Conyngham's  districts  in  Congress, 
his  home  being  in  Armour.  Mr.  G was  one  of  the  few  congress 
men  who  carried  his  district  last  fall  on  his  own  personal  merits, 
and  without  resorting"  to  the  disreputable  practices  which  have  of 
late  so  disgraced  our  political  contests.  A  gentleman  to  the  manor 
born  and  bred,  he  scorned  to  obtain  success  by  availing  himself  of 
the  language  and  the  tactics  of  the  slums ;  and  notwithstanding  the 
vile  personal  detractions  and  calumnies  which  his  opponent  resorted 
to,  and  who  exhausted  the  vocabulary  of  Billingsgate  in  order  to 
smirch  his  pure  and  spotless  character  as  a  citizen  and  public  man, 
preferring  defeat  to  dishonor,  he  calmly  referred  his  case  to  the 
people,  and  went  in  by  a  plurality  vote  of  700,  exactly  the  majority 
his  opponent,  one  Hamilton  expected.  The  latter  was  a  man  in  every 


THE  JUST  MADE  PERFECT.  263 

way  unsuited  to  serve  in  the  National  councils,  by  reason  of  his  intel 
lectual  inability  and  his  inexperience  in  public  affairs.  Mr.  Gofor- 
him  had  charge  of  the  Republican  National  Committee  during  the 
fight  in  Maine  and  Ohio,  and  his  hard  work  in  the  interests  of  his 
party  and  his  country  in  her  hour  of  peril  eventually  broke  down  his 
health,  which  he  now  comes  West  to  try  and  regain.  He  stopped  over 
here  to  inquire  about  our  institutions  of  which  he  claims  to  be  a 
warm  admirer;  he  considers  Brigham  Young  one  of  the  greatest 
men  our  country  ever  produced,  excepting  Washington.  Our  flour 
ishing  condition  financially,  and  the  redundancy  of  our  other  bless 
ings,  almost  causes  him  to  regret  that  the  accident  of  birth  prevents 
his  warm  adoption  of  our  institutions  and  becoming  a  partaker  of 
our  many  advantages  and  our  financial  prosperity.  He  leaves  this 
morning  for  the  Gass  and  Blow  river  countries  where  he  has  purchased 
half  a  dozen  silver  mines,  and  where  he  will  spend  the  greater  part 
of  the  summer  looking  into  his  mining  interests. 

Littlejohn  has  grown  somewhat  old,  and  is  still  in  the 
service  of  the  cormorant  corporation  which  he  has  served 
so  faithfully,  and  to  the  success  of  which,  he  is  devoted, 
both  body  and  soul.  Like  Ephraim,  he  is  joined  to  his 
idols.  Let  him  alone  ! 

Mary  Conyngham  married  a  gentleman,  in  every  respect 
the  exact  counterpart  of  Littlejohn.  In  addition  to  the 
qualities  which  distinguished  that  gentleman,  he  adds  all 
the  charms  and  accomplishments  of  the  esthetical  clergy 
man, —  a  new  style  of  minister,  lately  beginning  to  make 
its  appearance  in  religious  life. 

This  esthetical  clergyman  parts  his  hair  in  the  middle, 
peels  oranges  and  bananas  with  lemon-colored  kids,  and 
having  done  "Europe,"  adheres  to  the  strictly  English 
custom  of  never  appearing  upon  the  street  without  an 
umbrella,  rain  or  shine. 

Her  sister  Eleanor  married  an  independent,  fearless 
man,  belonging  to  the  ancient  regime,  and  the  party  of  the 
people.  This  gentleman's  native  pride  refused  to  bow  the 


264  ARMOUR. 

knee  to  the  house  of  Conyngham,  while  it  brought  down 
upon  him  the  hatred  of  Conyngham  plre  and  Conyngham 
fils,  and  denies  him  the  "thrift  that  follows  fawning," 
yet  it  has  its  compensation  in  the  fact,  that  he  not  only  re 
tains  his  independence  and  manhood,  but  also  the  respect 
of  his  fellow-men. 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  END.      265 


CHAPTER  XLII. 
THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  END. 

LARRY  HAMILTON  ? 

He  who  had  striven  so  bravely  and  manfully  to  outlive 
and  overcome  the  errors  of  early  manhood,  amidst  the 
mistakes  and  buffetings  of  adverse  fate  ? 

With  the  never-failing  encouragement  and  cheer  of  his 
noble  wife,  and  by  almost  superhuman  efforts  on  his  own 
part,  ami  years  of  trials  and  bitter  disappointments,  had 
he  succeeded  in  rowing  himself  back  from  the  eddies  of 
the  dreadful  maelstrom,  echoes  of  whose  awful  roar  for 
years  filled  him  with  vague  terror  and  alarm  ? 

His  disappointment  in  business,  and  the  failure  of  all 
his  desperate  efforts  to  retrieve  himself,  only  needed  his 
humiliating  defeat  by  Goforhim,  to  drive  him  to  the  verge 
of  despair  and  almost  to  madness. 

All  his  brilliant  visions  were  shattered  like  glass.  All 
his  ambitious  hopes  were  crushed.  He  had  striven  des 
perately,  and  lost  his  last  stake. 

His  failure  had  been  so  palpable,  crushing,  and  to  his 
brooding,  disappointed  mind  so  irredeemable,  as  to  crush 
out  all  hope  for  the  future.  He  felt  that  all  his  energies 
had  been  squandered,  and  the  bloom  and  the  beauty  of 
life  shriveled  up  forever.  Henceforth,  he  was  to  be 
pointed  out  by  his  fellow-men  as  a  failure.  This  thought, 
to  a  proud,  ambitious,  sensitive  nature  like  Hamilton's,  in 
moments  of  despondency  and  despair,  so  wrought  upon  his 


266  ARMOUR. 

morbid  imagination  as  to  almost  drive  him  to  destruction, 
as  it  has  driven  more  than  one  noble  spirit  to  tear  aside 
the  awful  veil  which  separates  the  real  from  the  unreal  — 
the  known  from  the  unknown. 

He  had  endured  the  goading  evils  of  envy,  hatred,  con 
tumely,  neglect,  and  disappointments  enough  to  break 
any  proud  man's  heart,  and  all  to  end  in  what  ?  — 

DEAD  FAILURE?  A  stranded  bark,  midway  in  life,  hope 
lessly  wrecked !  All  around  him  were  men,  many  of  them 
undeserving,  happy,  busy,  and  he  alone  now  purposeless, 
hopeless,  joyless  —  his  life  wasted. 

The  future  was  aimless.  This  was  misery  —  misery 
mighty  enough  to  quell  the  stoutest  heart. 

And  despair  had  seized  Lawrence  Hamilton.  His  sor 
rowing  friends,  and  almost  heart-broken  wife,  were  comi 
pelled  to  stand  by  in  helpless  anxiety,  and  see  him  slowly 
return  to  the  dissipated  courses  of  former  days.  He 
vainly  endeavored,  amongst  old  boon  companions  and 
the  thoughtless  of  mankind,  to  dull  the  edge  of  despair, 
and  disappointment  which,  like  a  canker-worm,  was  slowly 
eating  out  all  life,  all  hope. 

Again  was  the  fine,  old  Ashton  mansion  brilliantly  illu 
minated  for  a  scene  of  gayety  and  joyous  festivity. 

Society  in  Armour  had  been  on  the  qui  vive  for  weeks. 
Mrs.  Ashton,  in  honor  of  Senator  Malcolm  Conyngham 
and  lady,  had  determined  to  give  a  magnificent,  fancy 
dress  party  —  a  party  which  was  to  eclipse  in  splendor 
and  elegance  any  affair  of  the  kind  which  had  ever  taken 
place  in  the  social  annals  of  the  place.  Both  ladies  and 
gentlemen  had,  for  days,  been  making  elaborate  prepara 
tions  to  outvie  one  another  in  the  elegance  and  pictu- 
resqueness  of  their  costume,  while  the  former  spared  nci- 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  END.        267 

ther  pains  nor  expense  in  getting  up  their  most  lavish  and 
most  elaborate  toilets.  Some  of  the  gentlemen  sent  to 
the  city  for  costumes. 

Poor  Fannie  heard  of  the  coming  party  with  a  sicken 
ing  sense  of  dread,  for  its  effect  on  her  proud  and  dis 
pirited  husband.  She  knew  how  bitter  and  deadly  would 
be  the  poisonous  draught  to  his  proud,  sensitive  nature, 
to  meet  his  mortal  enemy,  and  the  one  man  to  whom, 
more  than  any  other,  he  owed  his  present  mortifying, 
humiliating,  and  hopeless  condition.  And  she  prayed 
long  and  earnestly  that  the  poisoned  chalice  might  pass 
from  him,  and  that  he  might  in  some  way,  be  spared  the 
humiliation  of  adding,  by  his  presence,  to  the  brilliancy 
and  triumph  of  his  haughty,  insolent,  and  remorseless  foe, 
whose  mean,  coarsely-fibred  nature  both  knew  would  ask 
no  greater  pleasure  than  to  drag  at  his  chariot's  wheels,  in 
his  triumphal  progress,  one  who  was  every  way  his  superior 
in  everything  that  constitutes  true  nobility  of  character. 

And  these  thoughts  did  not  fail  to  make  him  fairly 
writhe  and  groan  at  the  prospect  of  meeting  this  man 
face  to  face,  treating  him  like  a  gentleman,  and  thus  ac 
knowledging  his  own  humiliating  position,  which  he  owed 
to  this  man's  heartlessness,  greed,  and  selfish  love  of 
power. 

Fannie,  dreading  the  strain  which  a  meeting  under  such 
circumstances  would  inflict  on  his  now  irritable,  despondent, 
and  morbid  state  of  mind,  endeavored  to  dissuade  him 
from  going. 

But  Hamilton's  stern  pride  inexorably  demanded  that 
he  should  face  his  life-long  enemy,  in  the  height  of  his  ill- 
gotten  and  corruptly-acquired  triumph.  Yes,  he  would 
meet  him  eye  to  eye,  and  face  to  face ;  and  he  had  no  fears 
but,  though  surrounded,  as  no  doubt  Conyngham  would  be, 


268  ARMOUR. 

by  numerous  obsequious  flatterers,  he  could  compel  this 
successful  creature  of  duplicity  to  acknowledge,  by  a  waver 
ing  glance,  his  master  in  all  that  pertains  to  generosity  of 
heart  and  true  manliness. 

He  had  determined  to  face  the  thing  out,  cost  what  it 
might.  And  the  brave,  little  woman,  with  her  customary 
cheerfulness,  pluck,  and  courage,  determined  to  face  the 
inevitable  with  him,  and  endeavored,  by  all  in  her  power, 
to  make  herself  as  charming  and  attractive  as  possible. 

And  on  the  eventful  eve  of  the  never-to-be-forgotten 
party,  as  Hamilton  put  the  finishing  touches  to  a  splendid 
costume  representing  an  Elizabethan  courtier,  his  wife 
could  not  avoid  an  admiring  exclamation  of  surprise  and 
pleasure. 

His  silk  hose  and  slashed  velvet  doublet  set  off  his 
lithe,  graceful  figure  to  perfection  ;  and  but  for  the  tired, 
saddened  look,  which,  in  spite  of  the  gay  trappings,  be 
trayed  itself  in  the  drooping  lids,  and  deep,  thoughtful  gray 
eyes,  he  would  have  been  a  living  representative  of  one  of 
the  gay,  gallant,  chivalrous,  and  intellectual  courtiers,  who 
had  made  famous  the  reign  of  England's  virgin  queen. 

Fannie  assumed  the  role  of  an  Arcadian  shepherdess, 
a  dress  which,  on  account  of  its  simplicity  and  beauty,  en 
hanced  and  added  wonderfully  to  her  charms. 

As  Hamilton  stood  in  his  parlor  waiting  for  his  wife, 
carelessly  leaning  against  a  column,  partially  concealed  by 
heavy  rich  drapery,  and  which  answered  admirably  for  a 
background  to  his  elegant  dress,  he  was  the  picture  of  life, 
and  the  personification  of  gayety  and  pleasure,  as  far  as 
external  appearances  went.  No  one  would  have  suspected 
the  bitterness  and  despair  —  the  rankling  sense  of  impo- 
tency  —  within.  His  fevered  imagination  pictured,  in 
somber  colors,  the  phantoms  of  departed  hopes ;  and  as  he 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  END.        269 

contrasted  his  gay  exterior  with  the  sad  internal  realities 
of  life,  he  could  perceive  only  a  gloom  which  tended  to 
increase  the  bitterness  of  despair  within. 

The  night  was  dark,  and  a  drizzling  rain  was  falling,  as 
husband  and  wife,  well-wrapped,  stepped  into  the  waiting 
carriage  to  be  driven  to  the  last  place  in  the  word  to  which 
either  would  have  chosen  to  go  for  the  purpose  of  spend 
ing  a  pleasant  evening. 

As  they  entered  the  parlor,  the  sweet  strains  of  the 
"  Blue  Danube,"  together  with  the  splendid  effect  pro 
duced  by  the  elegant  dressing,  made  an  imposing  and 
enchanting  picture.  Hamilton  and  Fannie  entered  the 
same  room  where  many  years  before  he  had  first  learned 
to  love  the  beautiful  woman  now  hanging  on  his  arm  so 
lovingly,  and  whose  charming  grace  and  beauty,  even  after 
the  lapse  of  years,  caused  now  a  low  hum  of  admiration 
from  those  around  him. 

For  some  time  Hamilton  seemed  to  forget  his  misery  in 
the  pleasant  surroundings,  and  amidst  his  friends  he  en 
joyed  himself;  and  his  lively  sallies  and  witty  comments 
on  the  costumes  of  their  companions  was  the  occasion  of 
a  great  deal  of  mirth. 

As  Hamilton  turned  suddenly  towards  the  door,  his 
figure  unconsciously  stretched  to  its  full  height,  his  usu 
ally  pleasant  countenance  darkened  as  his  face  assumed 
an  imperious,  haughty,  and  scornful,  expression  of  wither 
ing  contempt,  as  his  eyes  met  those  of  Malcolm  Conyng- 
ham,  who,  with  his  wife,  had  just  entered  the  room,  amidst 
the  subdued  silence  which  generally  accompanies  the  ar 
rival  of  distinguished  guests. 

The  cool,  insolent,  self-possession,  which  years  of  un 
interrupted  success  had  given  to  Conyngham,  at  once  de 
serted  him,  and  quailing  under  Hamilton's  piercing  and 


270  ARMOUR. 

burning  glances  of  scorn  and  contempt,  he  passed  him 
without  recognition  to  the  other  side  of  the  room,  where 
he  was  soon  surrounded  by  a  fawning  crowd  of  admirers. 

After  receiving  their  congratulations,  he  recovered  him 
self,  to  some  extent,  and,  with  a  lady  on  each  arm,  a  taunt 
ing,  scornful  glance,  he  passed  Hamilton,  who  had  been 
left  standing  with  his  wife  almost  deserted  by  the  guests, 
who  had  hastened  to  pay  homage  to  success. 

Hamilton  returned  the  glance  with  a  scorn  and  contempt 
equal  to  his  own.  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  men  hate  most 
those  whom  they  have  most  injured,  and  Conyngham  at 
that  moment  enjoyed  to  the  full  his  mean  triumph  over  his 
former  friend,  whom  he  had  betrayed  and  ruined  like  other 
friends,  when  it  furthered  his  own  selfish  interest  to  do  so. 

The  evening  flew  by  on  golden  wings,  and  when  the 
clock  struck  one,  only  a  few  intimate  friends  of  the  hostess 
remained  engaged  in  pleasantly  discussing  the  incidents  of 
the  evening. 

Hamilton,  with  several  gentlemen  friends,  had  remained 
up  stairs  smoking,  and  drinking  more  wine  than  prudent  men 
would  have  approved  of,  and  the  boisterous  merriment  of  the 
party  had  several  times  caused  Fannie  to  feel  very  uncom 
fortable,  as  she  sat  with  Mrs.  Ashton  and  the  other  ladies 
awaiting  the  appearance  of  her  husband.  The  windows 
were  all  open,  and  the  night  was  warm  and  sultry,  while 
without  the  stillness  was  broken  only  by  the  pattering  of 
the  rain-drops  on  the  leaves  and  shrubbery. 

Suddenly  there  was  a  rushing  sound,  immediately  fol 
lowed  by  an  ominous  crushing,  horrible  thud,  causing 
every  one  to  start  in  terror  to  their  feet. 

"  What  was  that !  O,  What  was  that !  "  were  the  ex 
clamations,  immediately  followed  by  a  low,  agonized  moan. 

Amidst  cries  of  alarm  and  fright,  and  a  hurrrying  of 


THE  BEGINNING   OF  THE  END.  271 

feet  overhead,  several  gentlemen  rushed  outside,  followed 
by  servants  with  lights. 

Hastening  into  the  yard,  a  horrible  sight  presented  itself. 

In  the  solemn  midnight  stillness  and  the  drizzling  rain, 
the  dull  rays  of  a  lantern  disclosed  to  their  terror-stricken 
gaze,  lying  on  the  pavement,  the  handsome  form  of  Larry 
Hamilton,  with  the  blood-bespattered  hose  and  the  crushed, 
blood-stained  face  of  their  friend,  whose  ghastly,  staring 
eyes  were  upturned  towards  the  dark,  gloomy,  and  unpity- 
ing  vault  above. 

As  one  of  the  gentlemen  quickly  kneeled  and  raised  the 
head  of  the  dying  man,  a  wild,  unearthly  shriek  resounded 
on  the  midnight  air,  that  curdled  the  very  blood  in  the 
veins  of  the  terror-stricken  group,  and  with  her  white  face 
set,  her  eyes  opened  wide  and  livid  with  terror  and  awful 
despair,  beating  the  air  aimlessly  with  her  hands,  the 
light  fell  on  the  ghastly  face  of  Fannie  Hamilton,  as  she 
came  flying  down  the  pathway. 

The  crowd  instinctively  made  way  for  her.  For  one 
awful  moment  she  stood  transfixed  with  horror,  her  eyes 
wide  open,  fixed,  and  staring,  then,  with  one  loud  shriek, 
she  threw  herself  on  the  blood-stained  body  of  her  dying 
husband,  and,  but  for  almost  imperceptible  breathing,  to  all 
appearances  dead. 

Ralph  arrived  at  this  moment  and  endeavored  vainly  by 
name  to  recall  the  dying  man  to  consciousness. 

His  voice  was  interrupted  by  the  stifled  sobs  of  the 
women  and  the  terrible  death-rattle  which,  by  degrees,  grew 
fainter  and  fainter,  and  then  ceased. 

A  few  shuddering  gasps  —  one  last,  deep  sigh  —  and  the 
spirit  of  the  unhappy  Hamilton  returned  to  its  Maker. 

As  Ralph  shudderingly  closed  the  glassy  eyes,  the  limp 
and  almost  lifeless  form  of  the  widow  was  tenderly  carried 


272  ARMOUR. 

into  the  room,  where,  with  her  husband,  a  few  hours  before 
she  had  stood,  so  handsome  and  so  full  of  life,  and  who 
now  lay  in  that  same  room,  cold  and  stark  ! 

Dead  in  his  youthful  beauty.  His  blood  shed  perhaps 
by  his  own  hands.  Who  knows  whether  Hamilton,  feeling, 
perhaps,  faint,  and  desiring  fresh  air,  had  stepped  from 
the  room  where  he  had  been  pleasantly  conversing  with 
his  friends  —  although  it  was  afterwards  remarked  that  he 
had  been  unusually  quiet  —  and  walking  to  the  balcony, 
while  leaning  over  the  low  railing  he  had  lost  his  balance 
and  had  been  precipitated  to  the  pavement  below ;  or 
whether  disappointed,  exhausted  in  body  and  mind,  and 
maddened  with  wine,  that  here  in  the  wretchedness  of  that 
lonely  midnight  hour  of  despair  he  had  thrown  himself 
into  eternity.  No  one  will  ever  know. 

His  mother  did  not  long  survive  the  terrible  shock  of 
her  son's  death. 

As  the  mournful  procession  slowly  returned  from  the 
cemetery,  one  gentleman  remarked  to  another,  while 
pointing  out  Conyngham  and  Littlejohn,  "  I  hold  those 
two  men  directly  responsible  for  the  unfortunate  career 
and  untimely  death  of  this  young  man.  Talented,  bright, 
and  with  good  impulses,  he  could  have  gracefully  filled 
any  position  in  life,  but  by  some  strange  irony  of  fate  he 
fell  into  the  hands  of,  and  his  career  was  more  or  less 
shaped  and  warped  to  its  unfortunate  termination  by,  these 
two,  as  cold,  selfish,  narrow,  and  tyrannical  men  as  the 
monopoly  and  spoils  system  ever  brought  to  the  surface." 

Such  men  as  Conyngham  and  Littlejohn  would  never 
rise  to  power  but  for  the  hateful  monopoly  and  the  base 
spoils  system,  a  system  which  began  its  reign  in  tyranny, 
political  corruption,  and  debauchery. 


.  SMITH  &  OO38 


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